Poll: Blacks optimistic about future - CNN.com: (CNN) -- A year after the election of America's first African-American president, blacks in the United States are expressing optimism about racial progress not seen in a quarter-century, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.
Thirty-nine percent of African-Americans said the 'situation of black people in this country' is better than it was five years ago, nearly twice the 20 percent who said the same in 2007.
The optimism is not limited to the present, but covers the future as well.
A majority of African-Americans polled, 53 percent, said that life for blacks in the future will be better than it is now. Two years ago, the number was 44 percent.
The historic election of Barack Obama to the White House appears to have played a role in the positive sentiment.
