Have Race Relations Improved?

While reading The Root today, I came across a survey conducted by CNN/Essence regarding race relations in America:

From CNN:

The poll was conducted May 16-18, in telephone interviews with 505 African-Americans and 501 whites.

Blacks and whites had differing opinions of Obama's performance:

-More than 60 percent of blacks felt that Obama met their expectations, while 46 percent of whites did.

-Thirty percent of blacks said Obama exceeded their expectations, compared with 16 percent of whites.

-Six percent of blacks said Obama did not meet expectations, compared with 35 percent of whites.

Both blacks and whites gave similar answers to a survey question about whether race relations will always be a problem in the United States.

-Forty-five percent of blacks answered yes, while 42 percent of whites said yes.

-Fifty percent of blacks said no, while 56 percent of whites said no.

The poll had a sampling error on these questions of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points

Have race relations improved? If we put forth a post-racial agenda, will these relations improve?

I don't think we will ever have a post-racial agenda in the United States. Our country is still (in my opinion) too deeply enmeshed in the historical shackles of slavery. However, this is not to say that race relations haven't improved, nor will they improve. I believe that relations HAVE changed, that acceptance is becoming more universal.

I had this belief until I read that more than 27 million people are in slavery today all over the world. No, this is not the same type of slavery that we as Americans have a working knowledge of, but changes in the world's economies and societies over the past 50 years have enabled a resurgence of slavery. The end result is the same: One person controlling another and then forcing them to work.

What are we going to do about this? I'm going to try and find an answer.