While the bloody assault has sparked outrage, opinions differ by region and race on what it represents and what should be done in response. More than half of whites call the assault the actions of a lone gunman in an isolated incident; just a third say it reflects a larger problem of racism in America. But among African-Americans, three of four say it reflects a larger problem of racism.
There is an equally wide gap in views of the Confederate flag. A third of whites call it racist; half say it represents Southern history and isn't racist. But more than three of four blacks see the Confederate flag as a racist symbol that should be taken down from public places. Just one in 10 say it's a representative of Southern heritage.
The margin of error for the sub-sample of 138 African-Americans is plus or minus 8.5 points.
Those in the South, the region where the Confederate flag is most common, are least likely to see it as racist. By 49%-34%, they say it's not. Those in the Northeast and West are most likely to call the flag as racist, by pluralities of 12 and 13 percentage points. In the Midwest, a narrow 44%-42% call it racist.
"It was a flag that was fought and died for," says Neal Masteller, 57, of Forksville, Pa., who sees no racist connotations and compares it to the Irish flag for Irish-Americans. "Nobody has problems with them. St. Patrick's Day comes around (and) they all want to put up the Irish flag."
