Just 15 percent of Americans think race relations have improved under Obama

A new CNN/ORC poll released ahead of the 50th anniversary of Selma, Alabama's "Bloody Sunday" march reveals that nearly 4 in 10 Americans think race relations under the Obama administration have gotten worse.

Thirty-nine percent of respondents said that race relations have worsened under President Obama, while 15 percent said they think race relations have improved. Forty-five percent said they think they've stayed the same.

Unsurprisingly, more Republicans (65 percent) said race relations have worsened under Obama compared to Democrats (26 percent), though only 20 percent of respondents from the president's own party said things have gotten better.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

These findings are in contrast to a 2009 poll, which found that 32 percent of people thought Obama's leadership had improved race relations, 6 percent thought he made things worse, and 59 percent said nothing had changed.