White American Support for Black Lives Matter Falls to Lowest Point Since 2020: New Poll
Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
A new poll released by the Pew Research Center this week indicates Americans’ support for Black Lives Matter has fallen to its lowest point since the organization began surveying U.S. adults in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd.
During the height of the protests after Floyd’s death three years ago, 67% of Americans surveyed said they supported the movement; however, only 51% now “somewhat” support the activist group. Opposition to the group aimed at ending racial prejudice has grown, 46% of Americans surveyed claim they oppose BLM compared to 31% in 2020.
Of the 5,000 U.S. adults surveyed by Pew, only 8% said the organization has improved the lives of black people in the United States, while 57% say the opposite. Over the last couple of years, the Black Lives Matter organization has been riddled with reports of financial mismanagement leading to its co-founder, Patrisse Cullors, resigning amid public outcry in 2021.
However, the vast majority of the decline for the organization appeared to come from White participants not black, Hispanic or Asian respondents. According to Pew:
The decrease in overall support is mostly due to the declining share of White adults who say they support the movement. The shares of Black and Hispanic adults who express support have stayed about the same since 2022. (The sample size for Asian adults was too small for separate analysis in 2022.)
The polling group noted that White adults are more likely to describe the movement as divisive or dangerous than other ethnics or racial groups. Approximately 81% of black adults surveyed say they support BLM along with 63% of Asian and Hispanic respondents, while only 42% of White adults agreed.
In term of political partisanship, 84% of Democrats and respondents who lean Democratic claim they support the movement, while 82% of Republicans and those who lean GOP oppose Black Lives Matter. The age demographic that had the highest support for BLM were respondents between the ages of 18 to 29 at 64%, but only 41% of those 65 and older agreed.
