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However 70 percent of white Americans think blacks and whites are treated the same. Even after seven years of having the first person of color as president Americans are more doubt- ful than ever that Martin Luther King Jr.s dream of equal opportunity has been achieved according to Rasmussen. Blacks are the most skeptical. It would seem that a president who is half black and half white would bring the two sides together. However the CBSNYT poll suggests Obamas presidency has not united whites and blacks. Just 15 percent of Americans say his presidency has brought these groups closer together. Nearly half 47 percent Rasmussen reports think his presidency has made no differ- ence while 34 percent think it has pushed whites and blacks farther apart. CBSNYTs poll did report a 16 percent increase in positive opinions shortly after Presi- dent Obama took officefrom 50 percent in 2000 to 66 percent in April 2009. But by mid 2014 those positive gains had been lost in light of reported conflicts between white police officers and black subjects. At the end of 2014 only 8 percent of voters believed race relations had gotten better under Obama according to Rasmussen. Positive opinions of the presidents effectiveness in bringing races together breaks down along racial lines according to CBSNYT One-third 30 percent of blacks and 11 percent of whites believe the president has had a positive effect on race relations. RACIAL RELATIONS AND JUSTICE C BSNYTs study reveals half of Ameri- cans believe the criminal justice system in the U.S. is biased against blacks up from 35 percent two years ago. This is the highest that figure has been since the question was first asked in 1994. Again this breaks down along racial lines with 77 percent of blacks saying American justice is biased against them. Only 6 percent of whites believe they face bias when it comes to justice. And 44 percent of all those surveyed believe police are more likely to use lethal force against blacks. That percentage increases dramatically though to 79 percent when looking only at responses from people who are black. While 58 percent of blacks noted that the police make them feel safe 37 percent said law enforcement officers make them nervous. Six in 10 60 percent of black males believe they have been stopped by police simply because they are black. The Rasmussen survey reveals similar 14 WWW.AGRM.ORG MAYJUNE 2016 The Rasmussen survey reveals similar numbers with 82 percent of black voters thinking blacks receive unfair treatment by police. However the poll found that 70 percent of all voters believe the level of crime in low-income inner-city communities is a bigger problem in America today than police discrimination against minorities.