Have American race relations changed since the election of President Obama?

Since the election of President Barack Obama, many Americans are thought of to be more open minded. The election of an African-American president is a milestone that most Americans thought would never be crossed. With the crossing of such a monumental milestone, one could assume that finally a prolific change was taking place in America. In some ways, a change was taking place, but there will always be people that resent change and stubbornly refuse to do so. In this case, many Americans refuse to accept the fact that there are other races and ethnicites in this world besides their own. A sociologist would call it ethnocentrism, but many people, including myself, see it as racism. Sadly, many people still have a racist mindset. Because of this, many people are not able to grow and form relationships with people of different races and cultures. The relationships that can be created are very limited and restricted. This is not restricted to one race. Many different people from many different races have a racist or ethnocentric mindset. Because of the results of the recent election, many people wanted to believe that all Americans would come together in harmony. A survey taken by USA Today the day after the election showed that 28% of Americans thought race relations would get better. That percentage has gone down 13%; today, only 15% still hold on to that belief. When many people voted, their thoughts were not on the color of the candidate's skin. Their thoughts were on which candidate could better repair our nation's economy and run the country. Therefore, many people retained their same mindset and racist ways. These things have and continue to restrict race relations in America.