Americans' worries about race relations hit record high

Americans' worries about race relations in the country have hit a record high with more than a third expressing such concern, a new Gallup survey said Monday.

As many as 35 percent of Americans now say they are worried "a great deal" about race relations in the United States, the highest percentage since Gallup first asked the question in 2001, said the survey.

As shown in previous polls, Americans are divided along racial lines when it comes to concerns about race relations, said Gallup, with 53 percent of African Americans and 27 percent of Whites saying that they are worried.

The "worried" gap between African Americans and Whites was 31 percent to 14 percent in the 2012-2014 combined polls, said Gallup.

The survey came as the country's first ever African American president had entered his last year in presidency, and the rising concern about race relations was a retreat from the optimism that swept the country immediately after President Barack Obama won the election in 2008, Gallup noted.

Source: XINHUA