A Portrait of African American and White Racial Attitudes

How do people feel about race?

For those who believe that we live in a post-racial society, this question may seem simple. Although survey data collected since the 1940s do show that racial attitudes held by whites and African Americans have changed, that change is much more complicated than generally assumed. As state and federal policies have been adopted to battle racial inequality—from the desegregation of schools to preventing housing discrimination to affirmative action—there have been changes in some aspects of the nation’s racial climate. But has there been change in the hearts and minds of Americans? The answer to this question is complex.

This report provides a portrait of the trends in racial attitudes held by white and African American citizens as told through the record of survey research.