Attitudes toward African-Americans have worsened since 2008

ANN ARBOR-This might not be a "post-racial" era after all. New research indicates that racial attitudes toward African-Americans have worsened since the election of President Barack Obama. Many people described America as accepting of all races after Obama was voted as the country's first black president in 2008. However, a new poll shows that anti-black sentiments became more common in the last four years. Since 2008, explicit racism was more common among Republicans than Democrats. In 2012, the proportion of people expressing anti-black attitudes was 79 percent among Republicans, 48 percent among independents and 32 percent among Democrats. If the findings hold during next week's presidential elections, Obama's race may play a factor in voters' choices.