Details about AP-AOL polling of blacks' attitudes about leadership, other issues

<p>Demographics and details of the AP-AOL Black Voices poll about black leadership, the influence of hip-hop music and other issues. The data comes from a poll of 600 black adults for The Associated Press and America Online by Ipsos, an international polling firm. The survey, conducted Jan. 9 to Feb. 3, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.</p><p>Some highlights:</p><p>LEADERSHIP: About a fifth, 21 percent, said they were not sure who was "the most important black leader in America," and another 13 percent said no one. Veteran civil rights leader Jesse Jackson was named by 15 percent; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by 11 percent; former Secretary of State Colin Powell by 8 percent; U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois by 6 percent; Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan by 4 percent; talk show host Oprah Winfrey by 3 percent; slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. by 3 percent; and activist and former Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton by 2 percent. One percent picked themselves while 14 percent named a wide variety of other people. Almost two-thirds said leadership of the black community is effective, but only 18 percent of those polled said "very effective." Those most likely to say it isn't effective were married men, 39 percent, and those making more than $75,000 a year, 40 percent.</p><p>HIP-HOP MUSIC: Most say hip-hop artists should not be expected to serve as role models, but a majority of young adults, 52 percent, say they should play that role. Three-fourths said hip-hop artists are not good role models for children, with support for that view strongest among men 18-44; only 30 percent of that group said hip-hop artists are good role models. Half of those polled said hip-hop music is a negative force in society. The negative views increase with age _ only 35 percent of those 18-29 view it negatively, while 64 percent of senior citizens feel that way. And rural blacks, 61 percent, were more likely than those in the city, 47 percent, to see hip-hop as negative.</p><p>SLANG: Almost half, 47 percent, said it's a bad thing when slang that originates in the black community is adopted by people from other races. Young blacks were much more likely to say it's a good thing _ 45 percent of those 18-29 felt that way. Only 20 percent of those 65 and over feel that way. Linguistics professor Robert Leonard of Hofstra University said black slang is often adopted by whites, but the reverse almost never happens.</p><p>___</p><p>AP Manager of News Surveys Trevor Tompson contributed to this story.</p>

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