Overall, 54% say relations between blacks and whites have gotten worse since Obama became president, including 57% of whites and 40% of blacks. That’s up sharply compared with last June, when 43% said things had gotten worse shortly after a racially motivated shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina.
A similar share, 52%, say the criminal justice system in the US favors whites over blacks, while 36% say it treats blacks and whites equally, down 6 points since February 2015.
About three-quarters of blacks and one-half of whites feel the system favors whites. Whites are sharply split by education level on this question, with 62% of whites who hold college degrees saying the system favors whites over blacks vs. just 42% among whites who do not have college degrees. And urbanites are more apt to say the system is discriminatory than are suburban or rural Americans: 62% who live in urban areas say so, above the 53% of suburbanites and 38% of rural residents who say the same.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member