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Fifty-three percent of Americans agree that affirmative action programs are still needed, according to a new NBC News poll.
Respondents were asked whether they believed that "affirmative action programs are still needed to counteract the effects of discrimination against minorities, and are a good idea as long as there are no rigid quotas."
Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed felt "strongly" that this statement is true, while an additional 16% agree with the statement but not as strongly."
By contrast, 42% of respondents agree with a opposite statement -- that "affirmative action programs have gone too far in favoring minorities, and should be ended because they unfairly discriminate against white and Asian Americans."
Thirty percent of those surveyed who agreed with the second statement felt "strongly" about it, while an additional 12% agreed but didn't feel strongly about it.
While the majority of all Americans favoring the continuation of affirmative action programs, white Americans are split on the issue. Forty-seven percent of them agree that affirmative action programs are needed, versus 48% who disagree.
That's compared with 77% of African Americans and 68% of Latinos who favor affirmative action programs.
Opinions on the issue have shifted in favor of affirmative action over the last 10 years, according to previous NBC News polling.
The last time NBC News asked Americans about affirmative action -- in 2013 -- respondents were evenly split on the issue, with 45% supporting such programs and 45% opposing them.
According to that 2013 poll, just 34% of whites said they supported affirmative action programs, compared with 82% of Blacks and 58% of Latinos.
The NBC News poll was conducted April 14-18 of 1,000 adults — including 861 reached by cell phone — and it has an overall margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
