57 percent of Americans think U.S. race relations are 'bad'
A new poll from NBC News and The Washington Post found that a majority of Americans think race relations in America are "bad." As NBC News notes, the poll marks "the most pessimistic assessment of racial issues in almost two decades."
Four in 10 Americans polled said they believed U.S. race relations are "good," but 57 percent of respondents disagreed. And 23 percent of those polled said America's race relations are "very bad."
A July 2013 poll found that 52 percent of Americans approved of U.S. race relations, but NBC News says the new poll "most closely matches" a survey from 1995, during the month O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder. In the 1995 poll, 61 percent of respondents said the country's race relations were bad. In both cases, the disapproval of U.S. race relations spans across both white and black respondents.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
The poll comes after the killings of two unarmed black men, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, by white police officers. In the poll, four in 10 white respondents and 73 percent of African-Americans said that a grand jury's decision not to indict Garner's killer "made them less confident in the nation's legal system."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published