Poll: Thirty-five percent say race relations have worsened under Obama

Nearly 9 in 10 people say race relations in the United States have not improved under President Obama, according to a new poll. 

The New York Times-CBS poll found the majority, 52 percent, said race relations have stayed about the same. Another 35 percent said relations have gotten worse. 

{mosads}Only 1 in 10 said race relations have improved during the tenure of the first black president.   

The poll comes amid turmoil in Ferguson, Mo., where protests appear to be calming after more than a week of clashes with police, following the shooting of black 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white officer. 

Fifty-nine percent of black people and 50 percent of white people say race relations have stayed the same under Obama. 

Forty percent of white people believe relations have gotten worse, twice the percentage of black people.

Forty-seven percent of conservatives said race relations are getting worse under Obama. Twenty-two percent of liberals said the same. 

Overall, 78 percent said race relations in their own community are generally good. However, 47 percent say the same about race relations throughout the United States. 

Similar to other polling, Friday’s survey shows the events in Ferguson have divided people along racial lines. Sixty-seven percent of white people believe the protests have gone too far, while 43 percent of African-Americans feel the same. 

On the other hand, 50 percent of black people believe the police have gone to far in trying to quell the protests, while 27 percent of white people feel the same. 

Overall, 64 percent of people are unsure whether the shooting of Brown was justified. However, 57 percent of African-Americans say it was not justified. 

The poll surveyed 1,025 people from Aug. 19-20. The margin of error among African-Americans was 8 percent, while the margin among white people was 5 percent.