SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After the murder of George Floyd, what is your opinion about race relations in the United States? Do you think race relations are better, about the same, or worse?
"Nothing's changed. It's still the same," Ricco Alston, a Black man in Sacramento, said. "We still got people getting killed. We still got cops shooting innocent people. Now, we got Asian hate. The solution is people need to get to know each other and stop judging people."
According to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, Americans have a bleak outlook toward race relations in the U.S. Researchers surveyed 1,249 adults, 18 years of age and older, between May 4, 2021, and May 10, 2021, on the topic of race relations in America. They found 42% of Americans say race relations in the U.S. are worse than they were a year ago, 39% believe they are about the same, and 17% report race relations are better.
"What we see is the life experience of Black people and white people, in terms of whether they have experienced discrimination based on race or ethnicity," said Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist Poll. "Life experience is very different for Americans depending on their race. 61% of Black people told us, nationally, that they have experienced racism in their lifetimes. 84% of whites say they have not experienced discrimination. So, you have two very different perspectives on the topic of racial discrimination."
The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll also shows white Americans (45%) are more likely than Black Americans (34%) to think race relations have deteriorated. 49% of Blacks say the situation has remained the same, and for most, the status quo is a bad thing.
"It's stayed the same. It's just manifest in different ways," Nicole Keith, a white woman in Sacramento, said. "I think that white folks, like myself, are just aware of it now. White folks are saying it's worse because it's visible and people are not as afraid to talk about it. Systemic racism has existed in this country for hundreds of years. I've learned so much, but still, I got a long way to go."
Based on the poll, a majority of Americans (57%) think race relations for future generations will be better than they are now. 23% say they will be worse, and 15% report they will be about the same. A majority of Americans approve of how President Joe Biden is handling race relations. About two-thirds of Americans support reforming policies and procedures regarding the current use of force by police.
"In the short run, people of color believe that there's a chance, under Biden, for Americans to make progress on race relations unlike the greater pessimism felt during the Trump years," Miringoff said. "In the long run, most people, regardless of race, think the nation will get a handle on the issue for future generations."
