(hmmm...i had thought i had edited my original version to the "kinder gentler b.c. version" BEFORE i posted it. ah well).
I'm in agreement with you that the perceptions of younger white/black America are different from the perceptions of their respective elders, and perhaps some small comfort can be taken in the possibility that in time, the polarization will lessen.
I'd like to hope so, but i am not sure it will, sadly
However I think there is still an underestimation as to the extent and subtleties that racism (or at least race based thought) still are intertwined in our national psyche, especially among white Americans (meaning, the underestimation - not the racism).
You are probably right...but that works from both sides' views of the other, not just white to black.
while i do not doubt that there are plenty of folks who cannot get past their prejudices, i would certainly be much more amenable to spending a couple of hours chatting with an intelligent, articulate black person about politics, movies or something we may have a shared interest in like music that has an appeal both to blacks and whites (such as the blues, or jazz or motown), than spending my time with some stupid ignorant white dude without a brain in his head but obviously therein lies the difference in that a true racist (either black or white) would prefer the company of the same race moron, than the other race person with something more tangible to offer. (obviously this is a simplistic equation, but you get my drift)
Most polls that ask to what extent does one believe race is of significant influence demonstrate that whites in general think it is far less a factor in our lives than most blacks do.
This is true, for obvious reasons...but by the same coin, if you were to ask similar questions of blacks, you may also get a far more skewed influence than it really is. (i.e. while racism does in fact exist, it exists less so than blacks believe and moreso than whites believe, IMO)
I think those differences in opinion are not based so much on perceptions as they are in different realities.
Though older black Americans may seem more conservative than younger ones by virtue of their involvement in jobs, family, home, economic stability, and other values similar to middle class Americana in general, it does not mean their perception of the racial divide is lessened.