The Jan.4-Feb. 28, 1997 poll by the Gallup Organization also indicated a significant decrease, over time, in white expression of unfavorable attitudes toward African-Americans and toward such situations as interracial marriage and voting for a black presidential candidate. Whites said they have little prejudice against blacks, that they desire mixed race environments and don't object to mixed-race settings to live in and for their children's schools.

In addition, the survey indicated that a majority of African-Americans do not live, work or send their children to school in segregated environments, and that whites and blacks have close friends of the other race.

The Gallup survey was designed to provide a baseline for a continuing and regular audit of Americans' perceptions of race relations in the United States. It was based on telephone interviews with 3,036 adults. Of these, 1,269 identified themselves as black and 1,680 identified themselves as white.

The survey suggests that while differences still exist between black and white satisfaction with a number of aspects of their personal lives -- including income, standard of living and housing -- the gaps in some instances have narrowed substantially since the 1960s. Gallup officials called this development "one of the more significant findings of the study."

For example, in 1965, some 28 percent of blacks and 77 percent of whites said they were satisfied with their housing; in 1997, 75 percent of blacks and 90 percent of whites said they were satisfied. In 1963, 45 percent of blacks and 82 percent of whites were satisfied with their standard of living.

In 1997, 74 percent of blacks and 87 percent of whites said they were satisfied. Only 28 percent of blacks, and 69 percent of whites, were satisfied with household income in 1965. By 1997, satisfaction had increased to 53 percent of blacks and 72 percent of whites.

Another major finding was in the area of personal prejudice. Whites expressed tolerant racial views across a variety of measures and gave little indication that they have strong prejudice against African-Americans. The tolerance expressed by whites in poll responses has increased markedly over the past 30 to 40 years, and whites are now much less likely to object to several racial situations that they disapproved of in the past. On a "0 to 10" scale, both average whites and average African-Americans place themselves close to the no "prejudice whatsoever" end of the scale. Only a moderate percentage (22 percent of blacks and 14 percent of whites) admit to even a mid-point level of prejudice against members of the opposite race. At the same time, however, blacks and whites perceive that other whites in their area have much higher levels of prejudice against African-Americans.

In one of the most substantial race-related changes ever noted in a Gallup poll, a majority of members of both races, especially those less than 50 years old, now say they approve of interracial marriage between blacks and whites. In 1972, only 25 percent of whites and 61 percent of blacks approved of black-white marriages. The number who approve in 1997 is 61 percent of whites and 77 percent of blacks. Gallup officials said the major predictor of a positive reaction to marriage between blacks and whites is age, not race, with high approval noted among younger Americans and lower approval among older Americans. The age effect is found among both whites and blacks.

A majority of both races (83 percent of blacks and 61 percent of whites) say they would prefer to live in a neighborhood containing about 50 percent white and 50 percent African-American residents.

In what Gallup called a significant and profound change from previous years, less than a majority of whites say they would object even if African-Americans in great numbers moved into their neighborhood. In 1958, 80 percent of whites said they would move if African-Americans moved in great numbers into the neighborhood; in 1997, only 18 percent said they would move. A majority of both races say they would not object to sending their child to a school in which more than 50 percent of the children were of the opposite race. The percent of white parents who object to sending their child to a school with a "half" African-American population has fallen steadily since the 1960s; dropped to a low of 5 percent in 1980, and remains low (12 percent) in 1997. Objections to a "more than half-black" setting have declined from 63 percent in 1958 to 41 percent in 1997.

A high percentage of working Americans of both races (88 percent of African-Americans and 82 percent of whites) say their preferred work environment would include both white and black colleagues. In addition, almost no whites would object to voting for a qualified black candidate for president. This represents what Gallup calls "a highly significant change in attitude" since 1958. At that time, only 35 percent of whites said they would vote for an African-American president. As recently as 10 years ago, only about three-quarters of whites said they would vote for a well-qualified African-American candidate for president.

The survey indicated major differences in the perceptions of blacks and whites about the status of race relations in the United States. Whites are more optimistic than blacks on several perceptual measures of how African-Americans are faring both nationally and in their local communities. However, these gaps in some instances have narrowed since the 1960s.

In assessing their local communities in 1997, blacks are more likely than whites to perceive unfair treatment and discrimination. Seventy-six percent of whites say that blacks are treated the same as whites, while only 49 percent of blacks perceive equal treatment. In 1968, only 26 percent of blacks (compared with 73 percent of whites) felt that both races were treated equally in their community.

Perceptions of blacks and whites regarding equality of employment education and housing opportunities in their communities show similar gaps between blacks and whites. African-Americans are most positive about equal opportunity for themselves in terms of education (63 percent) and least positive about equal opportunities to get jobs (46 percent). These numbers still represent progress.

As far back as 1962, more than eight out of 10 whites said black children had as good a chance as white children to get a good education in the local community, but that year, only about half of blacks said black children had the same opportunity. Gallup noted that the gap between whites and blacks on this perception has narrowed over the years, from 32 percent in 1962 to 16 percent in 1997.

In 1989, when Gallup first asked blacks and whites about their perceptions of black housing opportunity, 51 percent of blacks and 71 percent of whites felt opportunities were equal for both races. In 1997, 58 percent of blacks and 86 percent of whites perceive equal housing opportunities for both races.

While about six out of 10 whites say the quality of life for blacks has improved over the past 10 years, only about one-third of blacks agree. At the same time, African-Americans are more likely than whites to say that the quality of life for whites has improved. Each racial group thinks things have improved more for the other racial group. Both blacks and whites were more optimistic about improvements in the quality of life for blacks in 1980 than during the past seven years.

When asked about "relations between blacks and whites over the past year," however, both whites and blacks split roughly into thirds, saying race relations have improved, stayed the same or gotten worse. Looking to the future, whites and blacks appear equally pessimistic about the future of race relations in America. Between 54 and 58 percent of members of both racial groups say that race relations will continue to be a problem.

Whites (46 percent) and blacks (72 percent) say that blacks are treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than whites -- but the degree of perception differs by 26 points.

Whites and blacks have different views on the role of the U.S. Government in dealing with the racial situation. Blacks (53 percent) are twice as likely as whites (22 percent) to say the government should increase affirmative action programs. Some 37 percent of whites, compared with 12 percent of blacks, want affirmative action decreased.

Still, when asked if blacks should try to change the system or improve themselves, a majority of both blacks and whites supported the "improve themselves" option.

The survey made clear that the notion of a separate America for African-Americans is no longer valid. Blacks have relatively high levels of daily contact with whites across a variety of settings. Seventy-five percent of blacks say they have a close friend who is white. Thirty percent live in a neighborhood which is half black and half white, and another 20 percent live in a mostly white neighborhood. Forty-one percent live in mostly or all black neighborhoods.

Sixty-one percent of blacks say they send their oldest child to a school which is at least half white, compared with only 25 percent who send their children to mostly black schools. Blacks with higher education and income levels are least likely to live in mostly or all black neighborhoods, or to send their children to mostly or all black schools.

African-Americans are also overwhelmingly likely to work with whites. Seventy-six percent report that their workplace is at least half white, and 47 percent work with mostly or all whites. Only 15 percent work with mostly or all blacks.

One aspect of life which remains very segregated is worship. Seventy-one percent of blacks and 73 percent of whites worship almost exclusively with members of their own race.

Between 6 and 30 percent of blacks say they have been unfairly treated because of their race over the last 30 days in each of a series of everyday life settings: shopping, at work, dining out, using public transportation, with police. Forty-five percent of blacks report discrimination in at least one of those settings. The highest level of perceived discrimination (30 percent) is in terms of shopping; the lowest, 6 percent, is occurs when using public transportation. Gallup noted that despite the negative attention that encounters between blacks and police have received in recent years, the reported incidence by blacks of perceived discrimination in dealing with police is one of the lowest at 15 percent. On the other hand, the experience of young black males (ages 18-34) is distinctly different. Seventy percent of them -- more than any other segment of America's black population, including young black females -- are likely to say they have encountered discrimination, particularly in terms of shopping (45 percent) and interactions with police (34 percent).

The numbers tell a story of important differences in perception between whites and African-Americans, but overall, they show fewer race problems, less discrimination, more opportunity for African- Americans and diminishing personal prejudice. These attitudes represent a significant change over 30 years, a comparatively short time when measuring important changes in behavior and belief.

On the other hand, significant race problems, everyday incidences of discrimination, inequality of opportunity and prejudice against blacks remain. Despite the persistence of these attitudes, however, black satisfaction levels have risen steadily over the years.