Poll: Opinions On Zimmerman Divided Along Racial Lines
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A recent poll done by the Pew Research Center showed that opinions of the Zimmerman acquittal were significantly contrasting in terms of racial demographic. 
A protestor expresses his racial identification and empathy for the victim of the shooting. (Michael Fleshman/Flickr Creative Commons)
An overwhelming majority of 86% African-American adults and 58% Hispanic-American adults included in the survey disapproved of the outcome of the Zimmerman court, while only 31% of White Americans disapproved.
Similarly, 51% of White Americans approved of Zimmerman’s acquittal, while only nine percent of African-American adults and 25% of Hispanic-American adults showed preference for the actual outcome.
The poll serves to highlight some of the underlying racial tensions that characterize the Zimmerman trial.
The tragic shooting has become a stage upon which a national debate is being held over American gun control, self-defense law, and race relations.
Across the nation from New York to Los Angeles, protestors had taken to the streets in indignation, chanting slogans such as “No justice! No peace!”, and carrying signs expressing racial anxieties such as “I am Trayvon Martin,” or “Enough is enough.”
SEE ALSO: Hundreds Of Trayvon Martin Protestors Close L.A. Streets
President Obama even personally reflected on the transgressions of what many consider a post-racial nation in an impromptu public statement, which was one of the President’s most extensive commentaries on race relations since he entered the White House.
“Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago,” said the President in a surprise briefing.
SEE ALSO: Obama: 'Trayvon Martin Could Have Been Me'
However, the survey clearly indicates there are those who believe the shooting is being blown out of proportion into a clichéd debate over race relations.
The Pew Research Center study also showed that 52% of all American adults believe that the issue of race is being unnecessarily highlighted by the media-fueled Zimmerman debate.
60% of White Americans, 13% of African-Americans, and 40% of Hispanic-Americans included in the survey believed “the issue of race is getting more attention than it deserves,” whereas 78% of White Americans, 28% of African-Americans, and 40% of Hispanic-Americans included in the survey believed the Zimmerman trial “raises important issues about race that need to be discussed.”
