Nation Racially Divided Over Zimmerman Verdict 86% of blacks, 30% of whites unhappy with outcome By Ruth Brown, Newser Staff Posted Jul 22, 2013 6:47 PM CDT 303 comments Comments Jazz Johnson holds the hands of her son Omar Hunter as they listen to speakers at a "Justice for Trayvon" rally. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) View 1 more image (Newser) – Two new polls find America is divided racially and politically over the outcome of the Zimmerman trial. Both a Washington Post-ABC News poll (of 1,002 people) and a Pew Research poll (of 1,480) found 86% of black respondents were unhappy with the verdict, compared with 31% of whites in the former poll and 30% in the latter. In the Post-ABC poll, 87% of African Americans believed the shooting was not justified, versus 33% of white Americans. The two groups were also divided over whether the issue of race was too much of a focus in the discourse around the case—the Pew poll found 78% of blacks said it raised "important issues about race that need to be discussed," while 60% of whites thought race received too much attention. The political divide was less stark, but still significant—65% of Republicans in the Post-ABC poll and 61% in the Pew poll were satisfied with the verdict, while 62% and 68% of Democrats disapproved, respectively. The Pew poll also found 80% of Tea Party supporters were satisfied with the verdict. View 1 more image My Take on This Story Report a story error Show results without voting | 10% Hilarious 11% Intriguing 21% Depressing 9% Brilliant 2% Scary 47% Ridiculous