American public opinion on race relations, opportunity, and discrimination is divided by race, according to a new poll by the Emerson College Polling Society.

 

When asked are race relations getting better in the U.S., 34 percent of respondents said yes, while 44 percent of people said no. Among African-Americans, 61 percent believe race relations are worsening as compared to 41 percent of Caucasians and 42 percent of Hispanics who hold the same view.

 

Americans appear to be generally split on whether or not minority groups and Caucasians are on an equal playing field. Twenty-seven percent believe non-Caucasians have more opportunities, 30 percent think they have fewer, 32 percent said they have the same amount, and 7 percent judged it dependent on other factors. African-Americans and Hispanics believe that minority groups have fewer opportunities ( 53 percent and 39 percent respectively) compared to 27 percent of Caucasians.

 

Justice Biased

 

When asked whether the American justice system is biased against minorities, further divisions according to race were revealed in the Emerson poll. Sixty-nine percent of African-Americans agreed the American judicial system is biased; 22 percent say it is not. Among Caucasians, 28 percent of those polled believe the system is biased and 51 percent do not.