Ever since Barack Obama announced his intention to run for president, national and international media have obsessed over whether or not America would be willing to elect a black commander-in-chief. But with Obama now in a neck-and-neck race with Hillary Clinton to gain the Democratic nomination, many across the country have declared the candidate’s popularity as concrete proof that America’s racial divide has healed.
But when taking a closer look at opinion polls, it turns out that in many places, white Americans believe the country is more likely to elect a non-white president than black Americans do. For example, in a recent survey conducted by CBS, 40% of black residents in South Carolina felt that America wasn’t ready “to elect a black president,” while only 34% of white residents felt the same way.
Join the debate
Is Barack Obama’s early success proof that America no longer harbors the racist factions it once did? Is race still an important factor in politics?
No comments:
Post a Comment