Out Of The Past

To get a sense of how public attitudes about race have changed, you need only look back at the America Barack Obama was born in, and compare it to the one that has elected him as the first African American president.

Race is one of the most painful themes in U.S. history, and public opinion is full of contradictions and complexities. If you look back at survey results from the late 1950s and early 1960s, as Public Agenda did for the fiftieth anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, you can see how unimaginable a black president must have been:

• In 1958, an overwhelming 94 percent told Gallup they opposed interracial marriages, such as the one between Obama's parents. (Today, eight in 10 say they approve).
  


• In 1959, a little more than half, 53 percent, said the Brown decision "caused more trouble than it was worth."
  


• In May 1961, most people (57 percent) told the Gallup poll that sit-ins at lunch counters and the activities of the "Freedom Riders" would actually hurt African Americans' chances for integration.
  


• In 1964, Harris found 57 percent who disapproved of the "Freedom Summer" effort by civil rights workers to organize black voters in Mississippi.
  

It would be wrong to be too negative about public attitudes in this period. By the early 1960s, majorities of Americans supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act and opposed segregation laws. Most were repelled by heavy handed police tactics against protest marchers and backed presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy when they used troops and federal marshals to enforce civil rights laws. But there's no question the gap between the world of the early 1960s and the world we live in now is enormous.

There are serious issues surrounding race in the United States – the gaps in income, educational achievement, and other statistics persist. There are also wide differences in perceptions on race relations between whites and minorities. The problems around race are not resolved, and there's still a lot for the nation to work on.

But one question can be laid to rest. Surveys have shown for some time that majorities of Americans said they were ready to vote for an African American for president. But doubts persisted, with many wondering if people were lying to the pollsters, and questioning whether the public would really follow through in the voting booth.

On Tuesday night, they did. And that can only be called progress.