4.15 Race relations. Here are two opinion poll questions asked about race relations in the United States.

We’d like to know how you would rate relations between various groups in the United States these days. Would you say relations between whites and blacks are very good, somewhat good, somewhat bad, or very bad?

Do you think race relations in the U.S. are generally good or generally bad?

In response to the first question, 72% of non-Hispanic whites and 66% of blacks answered relations between blacks and whites are “very good” or “somewhat good.” Sixty-one percent (61%) of those answering the second question responded “generally bad.”

The first question came from a poll that was conducted in March 2015. The second question came from a poll that was conducted between April 30 and May 3 of that same year. Between the two polls, a man named Freddie Gray died after being in the custody of the Baltimore police. In what ways do you think this event may have affected the responses to the two different polls? Do you think the results would be different if the question from the second poll had been worded like the question from the first poll?