Half of Americans believe racism is a serious issue in the country, CNN found in a recent poll.
According to the survey, conducted in partnership with The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 49 percent of Americans responded "yes" to the question, "Is racism a big problem in America today?" That's 21 points higher than in 2011, when only 28 percent of Americans cited racism as a cause for concern.
While the network did not speculate on why more Americans see racism to be a problem than they did four years ago, the Black Lives Matter movement has raised public awareness of the issue and helped focus national attention on a series of police killings of unarmed black men within the last two years.
Opinions on racism, however, varied widely based on party affiliation and race. While only 28 percent of white respondents believed racism was a pressing issue, 66 percent of blacks and 64 percent of Hispanics believe it is.
The poll took place between Aug. 25 and Oct. 3 and included the answers of 1,951 adults who were selected at random. It had a 3 percent margin of error.
The network will release additional findings from the poll on "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon" Tuesday at 10 p.m. EST as part of its new series, "Race and Reality in America."
Watch a clip from "New Day" where CNN anchors discuss the poll's results.