Americans increasingly say race is the country’s most important issue

The Gallup poll showed that the number of Americans naming race as the country’s most important problem shows that the concern today pales in comparison to the numbers seen during the 1950s and 1960s, which makes sense. But the surge in concern is noteworthy when you consider that in September, just weeks after the Ferguson protests dominated the news, only 3 percent of people said race was a key issue. Since the Rodney King riots of 1992, when 15 percent of Americans said race was the country’s top issue, that number has never topped 5 percent, Gallup says.

President Obama remarked on this heightened awareness during his end-of-the-year news conference Friday, saying that the recent news has made more people aware of a disconnect minorities have long cited.

“Obviously, how we’re thinking about race relations right now has been colored by Ferguson, the Garner case in New York and a growing awareness in the broader population of what many communities of color have understood for some time,” he said. “And that is there are specific instances, at least where law enforcement doesn’t feel as if it’s being applied in a colorblind fashion.”