What Do Americans Believe One Year After the Murder of George Floyd?
According to a survey of of 1,875 U.S. adults conducted from April 28 to May 4, 2021 with a 2.8% margin of error by Axios-Ipsos, 7 out of 10 Black Americans believe police treatment has worsened in the past year, and a majority of Black Americans believe that calling the police does more harm than good. Also, majorities across all racial groups do not think that the police nor criminal justice courts treat all people equally. 59% of respondents disagreed with the statement "police treat all Americans equally," and 58% said the same about criminal justice courts and lawyers (Nather). There are also stark differences between the views of white Americans, depending on how they stand politically. 79% of white Republicans believe that the United States has made the changes needed to give Black Americans equal rights with white Americans compared to only 12% of white Democrats. Additionally, 47% of white Republicans agree that America is not a racist country, while only 4% of white Democrats agree. Finally, 87% of white Democrats, but just 19% of white Republicans, say the U.S. must continue making changes to give Black Americans equal rights with white Americans (Talev).
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Decline in Support for BLM
In a March 2021 article, USA TODAY reported that an exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll (of 1,165 adults with the credibility of ±3.3 percentage points) revealed that Americans' trust in the BLM movement had decreased and faith in law enforcement had been widely restored since the summer. These results were revealed right before the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin began.
In June 2020, a USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll found that 60% of people described George Floyd's death as murder, but in March 2021, that number is now 36%. More people are also expressing uncertainty about how they would describe the event. 64% of African Americans labeled Floyd's death as murder, while only 28% of whites describe it as murder.
In June 2020, the poll found that 60% of Americans trust the BLM movement to promote justice and equal treatment, while only 56% of Americans trusted local police to do so. In March 2021, only 50% trust BLM and now 69% trust local police. There are significant divisions by race regarding these views (Page, Susan, et al.).
New York Times Columnist Charles M. Blow wrote "It’s clear now that the summer protests, which took place during a pandemic during which congregation was discouraged, were for some participants less a sincere demand for justice than they were a social outlet." The evidence of declining support for BLM is notable in how three months after George Floyd's death, there was significantly less outrage surrounding the shooting of Jacob Blake. The rise in opposition to BLM was also expressed in legislation, as many Republican lawmakers are considering harsher penalties for protestors who break laws. Additionally, despite demands to defund the police, police spending has actually risen by some measures. Even though some say that the summer of 2020 was a racial reckoning, Blow argues that it was really only a "season" of "solidarity" that has now passed (Blow).
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In June 2020, a USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll found that 60% of people described George Floyd's death as murder, but in March 2021, that number is now 36%. More people are also expressing uncertainty about how they would describe the event. 64% of African Americans labeled Floyd's death as murder, while only 28% of whites describe it as murder.
In June 2020, the poll found that 60% of Americans trust the BLM movement to promote justice and equal treatment, while only 56% of Americans trusted local police to do so. In March 2021, only 50% trust BLM and now 69% trust local police. There are significant divisions by race regarding these views (Page, Susan, et al.).
New York Times Columnist Charles M. Blow wrote "It’s clear now that the summer protests, which took place during a pandemic during which congregation was discouraged, were for some participants less a sincere demand for justice than they were a social outlet." The evidence of declining support for BLM is notable in how three months after George Floyd's death, there was significantly less outrage surrounding the shooting of Jacob Blake. The rise in opposition to BLM was also expressed in legislation, as many Republican lawmakers are considering harsher penalties for protestors who break laws. Additionally, despite demands to defund the police, police spending has actually risen by some measures. Even though some say that the summer of 2020 was a racial reckoning, Blow argues that it was really only a "season" of "solidarity" that has now passed (Blow).
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According to an article published by NBC News in November 2021, a national poll conducted by Civiqs found that 44% of respondents supported Black Lives Matter, 43% oppose BLack Lives Matter, and 11% neither support nor oppose it. The survey, which tracked responses from April 2017 to November 2021, found support to be highest in June 2020. Since June 2020, support for Black Lives Matter has declined, with 53% of white respondents opposing Black Lives Matter compared to 82% of Black respondents by November 2021 (Bellamy).