By SUSAN SAULNY


MILWAUKEE - Although the civil rights movement gave Samuel Sallis equality under the law a long time ago, he was left wanting most of his life, he says, for the subtle courtesies and respect he thought would come with it. Being a working-class black man downtown here meant being mostly ignored .

Then Mr. Sallis, 69, noticed a change.

“I’ve been working downtown for 30 years, so I’ve got a good feeling for it,”Mr. Sallis said.“Since President Obama started campaigning, if I go almost anywhere, it’s:‘Hi! Hello, how are you, sir?’I’m talking about strangers. Calling me‘sir.’”

In interviews around the United States, black men and women like Mr. Sallis said they were feeling more optimistic about race relations than even a year ago, when Mr. Obama emerged as a serious presidential contender. Many whites said they were feeling better, too, expressing an invigorated sense of openness toward people of other races.

Yet no one claims that racial prejudice has disappeared. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, reported finding 926 active groups in the United States in 2008, up 50 percent from 2000.

Still, Mr. Sallis said,“it feels like there’s a possibility now that wasn’t there before.”

The interviews reflect findings in the latest New York Times/ CBS News poll, in which two-thirds of Americans said race relations were generally good, with the percentage of blacks who said so doubling since July.

In just over 100 days, Mr. Obama’s presidency seems to have done much to alter the public’s perception of race relations.

And perhaps, in some cases, even the reality.“I feel a lot more comfortable starting up a conversation with people of other races on the streets now than I did before,”said Mitch Hansch, 29, a white waiter in New York City.“Since Obama was elected, racial tensions seem a little lower. I think it’s fantastic.”

The power of positive images of the Obama family has no doubt played a role for both races.“From my vantage point, what contributes to African-American numbers is just the outright awesome pride we feel when we see President Obama stand up with world leaders,”said Clifford Whitby, 46, a black real estate developer in Macon, Georgia, referring to the poll.

Some whites pointed to a slightly different dynamic.“I didn’t vote for Obama,”said Chris Miller, 46, a boat builder in Johnstown, New York, who is white.“But just what I saw during the campaign - you had people, white, lack, yellow, green, gray, every race and nationality out there together supporting that man. That right there showed me, hey, things are changing, things are better here.”

Alan Ingram, 29, a Web site designer in Milwaukee, agreed.“People had more of an opportunity to get together with this election and all of its events,”said Mr. Ingram, who is black.

For some blacks, subtle changes have made a difference. Chester J. Fontenot Jr., 59, an English professor and the director of Africana studies at Mercer University in Macon, said some of the social isolation he felt as one of the few black professors on campus was softening.“I think what’s happened with a number of white people who have come up and started talking to me is they feel comfortable with him,”Dr. Fontenot said, speaking of Mr. Obama,“and that makes it O.K. to come up and engage me.

Milton Patrick, an auditor in Tampa, Florida, who is black, emphasized how even small good-will gestures resonated with him. Still, he harbors no illusions.

“I’m not saying that the playing field is even,”he said,“but having elected a black president has done a lot.”


Reporting was contributed by Shaila Dewan from Atlanta, Malcolm Gay from St. Louis and Christopher Maag from New York .


“You literally saw people of all kinds of backgrounds finding common ground.”
ALAN INGRAM - Web site designer in Milwaukee, with Nicole Nelson, a law student.


“I feel a lot more comfortable starting up a conversation with people of other races on the streets now than I did before.”
MITCH HANSCH - Waiter in New York City.