Poll: Blacks See Improved Race Relations

CBS News/NY Times Survey Finds That For First Time Ever, Majority Of Blacks Say Relations Between Blacks And Whites Are Good

(CBS)  For the first time in CBS News polling history, a majority of blacks are casting race relations in the United States in a positive light.

Fifty-nine percent of African-Americans - along with 65 percent of whites - now characterize the relationship between blacks and whites in America as "good," according to a new CBS News/New York Times survey.

Less than a year ago, just 29 percent of blacks said race relations were good. The percentage of blacks who say race relations are bad, meanwhile, has dropped from 59 percent last July to 30 percent today.

Sixty-one percent of blacks say there has been real progress in getting rid of racial discrimination since the 1960s. That's up from 37 percent in December 1996. Eighty-seven percent of whites say there has been real progress since the 1960s.

Despite the increasingly positive perceptions, however, most blacks feel that discrimination lingers. Asked who has a better chance to get ahead in U.S. society, fifty-one percent of blacks said white people do. Forty-four percent said both races had equal opportunity, while just one percent said blacks had an advantage.

White people, by contrast, were far more likely to see a level playing field, with 62 percent saying both races had equal opportunity. Roughly one in four white said white people have a better chance to get ahead, while seven percent of whites said black people have the better opportunities.

Still, this data offers encouraging trends: the percentage of blacks who say that both races have equal opportunities has risen by twelve points since last July.

Perhaps surprisingly, most Americans do not directly credit President Obama for improving race relations. Fifty-nine percent of blacks and 65 percent of whites say race relations have stayed the same since Mr. Obama took office. But one in three blacks do say his presidency has meant a positive change in race relations.

The Obama Administration And African-American Optimism:

The election of the first-ever African-American president and his time in office has prompted an outpouring of optimism among African-Americans, despite the tough economic times.

Seventy-percent of African-Americans now say the country is headed in the right direction - more than twice the percentage of white Americans (34 percent) who say as much.

Back in January, just before Mr. Obama took office, only 21 percent of blacks (and 14 percent of whites) said the country was headed in the right direction.

Forty-one percent of blacks say the economy is getting better, while just 19 percent say it is getting worse. Whites, by contrast, are less optimistic, with 24 percent saying the economy is improving and 25 percent saying it is worsening.

Blacks are also overwhelmingly positive about the president's work on ending the recession and the war in Iraq, with 80 percent saying he has made progress on ending the recession and 73 percent saying he has made progress on ending the war.

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Whites are somewhat less positive, with 50 percent saying the president has made progress on ending the recession and 51 percent saying he has made progress on ending the war. And while 78 percent of blacks say Mr. Obama is bringing real change to how things are done in Washington, only 42 percent of whites say the same.

Whites and blacks are split on media coverage of the president. Nearly half of the African-Americans say the media are harder on Mr. Obama than other presidents, while just 12 percent say the media are easier on him. For whites, those percentages are roughly flipped: Just 15 percent say the media are harder on Mr. Obama than other presidents, while nearly half say they are easier on him.

The president’s overall popularity, while nearly unanimous among African-Americans, extends to majorities of both races. Six in ten whites approve of the way Mr. Obama is handling his job. Two-thirds are optimistic about the next four years with him as president. Three out of four say he cares about their needs and problems at least somewhat. And 55 percent say he will bring different groups together.

Michelle Obama, meanwhile, is enormously popular among both races. Ninety-seven percent of blacks and eighty-one percent of whites approve of how the first lady, who has an overall approval rating of 84 percent, is handling her job. Zero percent of blacks - and just seven percent of whites - disapprove.

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This poll was conducted among a random sample of 973 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone April 22-26, 2009. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

An oversample of African Americans was interviewed, for a total of 212 interviews with African Americans. The results then weighted in proportion to the racial composition of the adult population in the U.S. Census. The margin of error for the sample of African Americans is 7 points.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[revlin1]

You know the press is getting away with hypocrisy. First of all using WHITE VS BLACK in all issues where BLACK is seeing something WHITE is not and then turning around and calling WHITES (all racists and right-wingers-unless they are media or talk show hosts with lots of money/Dems) Enough already. The news coming out of Washington, D.C. and relating to the nutjobs that live there and run the place ISN'T THE NEWS coming out of regular America. Sorry; nice try, but I think the populations of that place, along with a few "fringe cities" like NYC, San Francisco, part of L.A. and Miami ought to make their own country and try getting along with each other and leave the rest of us alone!

[heavynne]

Michelle must be so proud of her country now. Finally. Whew!
Posted by itsjustathought at 5:15 AM : Apr 28, 2009
+ report abuse + permalink

She's not the only one to finally be proud of this country. People of color truly couldn't contribute a whole lot of pride to this nation. We have all endured nothing but white presidents, and we voted for them. But time and time again it was to no benefit of the diverse US that they portray. Racism has been the very core of America. I think that is why the whites are so afraid now, they think maybe justice will be dished out more equally and not just for them.

[norcalruss]

Let us really discuss the reverse racism that runs so rampant.
In the United States in 2005, 37,460 white females were sexually assaulted or raped by a black man, while between zero and ten black females were sexually assaulted or raped by a white man. Come on Eric Holder let's have that racial discussion.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This statement is so ridiculous that it is barely worth a response. Are you a KKK member spreading racist lies?

[melpol1]

The best barometer of improved race relations will be the frequency of white guys dating and marrying black girls. It is rising but not fast enough. Real proof will be when we see a blond blue eyed president with an ebony skinned first lady.

[mjvwsr]

"Poll: Blacks See Improved Race Relations"

Who edits this stuff? The blacks must have very very good eyesight because you can't see relations.

[Trust_me_]

I have never felt that blacks white or any other group were different then me.
But this being called a biggot for anything that does not fit or go along with his agenda is actually changeing how I feel about blacks.
quit with the race card for God sakes he won!

[skyk-2009]

enjoylife63 at 3:24 AM : Apr 28, 2009

Tough times for you poor souls huh? LOL I just do not think those Hate targets you used is effecting the President... I mean I hate to rain on your parade since you went to all that trouble of pressing the sheets but it's just a fact.

[skyk-2009]

Michelle must be so proud of her country now. Finally. Whew!
Posted by itsjustathought at 5:15 AM : Apr 28, 2009


LOL You poor ditto heads are so funny! Give you a talking point and you just keep repeating it.. LOL In case you missed it, that one, like all the others FAILED... BADLY! Shouldn't you be off in a corner with what little there is left of your Tired Old Party, trying to figure out some new Wedge Issue?

[omnibus66]

Ignorance breeds bigotry. When and if we ever achieve an educated population, we will have a chance at true equality. The education system we currently tolerate is a miserable failure, and unless it get fixed, the divide between the educated and uneducated, rich and poor, white and black, will continue.

Unfortunately, those who are resisting any changes to our educational system are those who are benefiting the most from the current mess. Money and power like it the way it is.

[familyguy38]

This is great news for our country!

[kansas1946]

Wow, those numbers are impressive. Good to see.