"Americans hoped the election of the first black president in 2008 would help heal the racial division that has plagued this country for much of its history, but a plurality (47 percent) of voters thinks Barack Obama has driven those of different races further apart instead," Rasmussen Reports said.
The survey, conducted January 14-17, found that a half of the respondents were pessimistic about race relations in the future, compared with 44 percent a year ago and 30 percent as recently as January 2014.
Analysts have speculated that well publicized police killings of mostly unarmed African Americans and often violent protests against police brutality are some of the main factors responsible for the growing pessimism about the future of race relations in the United States.
Unlike most questions related to race, there was not a wide difference of opinion on these questions between African Americans and whites, the Rasmussen Reports survey indicated.
