(Courtesy/City of Salem)
The city of Salem is asking residents to share their experiences with and opinions related to discrimination in Salem through an online survey.
The 5 to 10-minute survey, conducted by Western Oregon University with the city’s Human Rights Commission, is intended to better understand the level of discrimination in the city, according to the survey page.
Those who submit responses by May 14 can enter a random drawing for one of two $50 prepaid Visa cash cards paid for by an anonymous donor.
Individual responses will remain confidential and be “combined with the responses of others for analysis purposes,” the survey said.
People can also leave comments at the end of the survey.
The city’s 2021 survey found people without housing experience discrimination at a higher rate and frequency than any other group of Salem residents, with nearly 80% rating the city as “poor” or “failing” with a lot of discrimination.
Whites and Latinos were underrepresented in the survey
Whites and Latinos were underrepresented in last year’s survey, with 66% and 12% of responses despite making up 81% and 24% of Salem’s population respectively, according to Census data.
Black people were overrepresented in the 2021 survey with 6% of respondents despite making up less than 1% of the city’s population.
-Ardeshir Tabrizian
