Poll finds 56% black voters say America more racist today than 10 years ago, just 30% whites agree

'By a pretty wide margin, voters living in both urban and rural settings are more likely to say that racism increased rather than decreased over the past decade,' Rasmussen said. 'Suburban voters see it differently. In suburbia, a plurality thinks little has changed.'

By Carrie Sheffield

Published: June 18, 2020 12:35pm

Updated: June 18, 2020 2:51pm

A majority of 56% of black U.S. voters say America is more racist today than 10 years ago, while just 30% whites agree, according to a new Just the News Daily Poll with Scott Rasmussen.

The results come after nationwide protests in the wake of the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

"Given the current protests and tensions, it’s no surprise that voters are more likely to see our nation as more racist than it was 10 years ago," Rasmussen said. "Most black voters (56%) and a solid plurality of Hispanic voters (42%) believe the nation is more racist today. Some of this is almost certainly a response to the fact that Donald Trump replaced Barack Obama in the White House. Among white voters, a plurality (39%) believe little has changed. The rest are evenly divided between the nation being more or less racist."

Just the News Poll, Is America more racist today compared to 10 years ago?

Just the News Daily Poll

With Scott Rasmussen

Rasmussen also said: "It’s worth noting, however, that 37% think little has changed. That’s a point more than the 36% who believe the nation is more racist. A smaller number – 23% – believe it is less racist today."

He also pointed out what he called an "interesting geographic note" about the poll results.

"By a pretty wide margin, voters living in both urban and rural settings are more likely to say that racism increased rather than decreased over the past decade," Rasmussen said. "Suburban voters see it differently. In suburbia, a plurality thinks little has changed."

Just the News Daily Poll respondents were asked “Compared to 10 years ago, is America today more racist, less racist, or about the same?" They replied as below:

36% More racist
23% Less racist
37% About the same
4% Not Sure

The national survey of 1,200 registered voters was conducted June 11-13, 2020 by Rasmussen, a polling veteran. Margin of sampling error: +/- 2.8% for full sample.

To see the full demographic cross-tabulations for this polling question, click below:

2020-06-18 JTN CROSSTABS.pdf

To see the methodology and sample demographics for this polling question, click below:

2020-June 11-13 JTN Poll Sample & Methodology.pdf