While we can’t say for sure why young people are less likely to express racist attitudes, there are several possible explanations.
Not only has this group of white people come of age during the racial backlash to President Obama, but they are also one of the most educated cohorts, and able to benefit from the liberalizing effects of education on racial attitudes.
While Obama’s election led some people to hope we had entered a post-racial America, the deeply racialized backlash to his presidency has awakened many young Americans to the persistence of racism.
The increase in prominent black, Latino and Asian-American actors, activists, politicians, and celebrities openly discussing racial justice has also had an effect on young people.
And the Democratic Party has paid more attention to racial justice, which has helped pull progressives to concern themselves more deeply with the issues.