I am a Black Republican. Here's what my party should know about racism in America.

In his 1796 farewell address, President George Washington warned about “the baneful effects of the spirit of party,” by which he meant we must be mindful not to let party politics supersede the aims of We the People.

According to the latest Public Agenda/USA TODAY Hidden Common Ground survey, the spirit of the party continues to have its baneful effects. At least 8 out of 10 Americans believe our democracy is in trouble.

The problems they cite include special interests’ influence on politics and lawmakers’ disregard for ordinary people’s opinions.

For these reasons, almost 9 out of 10 Americans – including people from both parties and independents – want elected officials to put aside destructive partisan divisiveness.

Within this aspirational goal, however, one major partisan difference stands out. Far fewer Republicans than Democrats, independents or politically unaffiliated people acknowledge how racism impacts people of color’s ability to participate in our system of government. Differences by political affiliation far outweigh differences by race in views on racism.

After reading Public Agenda’s latest report, I offer a few assessments to help us consider which steps are possible – and which ones are not – in our journey for a healthier society:

►Overcoming racism is more important than ever, but identifying barriers to racial participation in politics is an uphill battle. Seventy-five percent of Americans “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” that “overcoming racism is now more important than ever.” Eighty-four percent of Black Americans and 73% of white and Latino Americans agree, but fewer Republicans (60%) than people of other political affiliations agree with this statement; 91% of Democrats say overcoming racism is now more important than ever.

USA TODAY's opinion newsletter: Get the best insights and analysis delivered to your inbox.

Furthermore, 44% of Americans agree that “racism can make it difficult for some Americans to participate” in politics. While 56% of Black people agree with the statement, only 41% of white and Latino Americans believe that racism is a barrier to political participation.

By far the bigger difference on this question is by political affiliation. Only 20% of Republicans believe that racism is a barrier to political participation, compared with 58% of Democrats, 46% of independents and 52% of politically unaffiliated people.

As a Black Republican with decades of experience working with GOP lawmakers, business leaders and scholars, I can attest that racism does make it difficult for some Black people’s participation in the Republican Party as well as in American civic and political life in general.

It is also worth noting that class, region and religion make it difficult for some whites to participate in American civic and public life as well – or inside and outside of the GOP – in ways race does for people of color.

Racism isn't relegated to the past

►More people believe racism is largely a problem of the past than we care to admit. Nearly half (45%) of Americans “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” that “racism is largely a problem of the past; it is unproductive to focus on it today.”

We tend to think this opinion is not a widespread belief, and if it is, we primarily attribute it to members of the GOP. This is not an inaccurate assessment.

According to the survey, 56% of Republicans believe racism is largely a problem of the past. Only 34% of Democrats do. The easy explanation for this 22-point gap is that the mostly white Republican Party is the racist party stuck in the past, and that the Democratic Party is the contemporary standard-bearer for multiracial modernity. But each claim overlooks two points in the survey.

The first point is that there are no statistically significant differences by race on this question. For example, 44% of white, 43% of Black and 51% of Latino Americans agree somewhat or strongly that “racism is largely a problem of the past; it is unproductive to focus on it today.”

The second point is a variation in thought: 44% of Republicans do not believe racism is largely a problem of the past. In contrast, 34% of Democrats believe that it is, and that to focus on racism today is unproductive. This means 4 of 10 Republicans and 3 of 10 Democrats are at odds with what the majority of their party members think about the subject. This means outliers in each party are worthy of our attention as well.

Overall, the survey is clear that Americans’ beliefs about race and opportunity are keenly nuanced across party lines. But this seems less apparent for Republican Americans.

GOP governors support remedies

For them to claim that racism is largely a problem of the past is out of step with GOP governors and mayors who support economic, entrepreneurship and criminal justice initiatives to address racist practices of the past that are still alive today.

At the same time, the election of Black Republicans to local, state and national offices is not the sole barometer to claim opportunity for all is alive.

The survey indicates we have a lot of work to do to improve our democracy. How we view race and opportunity must be a part of the equation. Solely relying on the spirit of party to articulate a national vision for democracy is a losing proposition. Looking at ourselves through the lens of We the People is a better one.

Gerard Robinson, fellow of practice at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, is a former Virginia secretary of education.

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Racism in America: What my fellow Republicans should understand