Support For Black Lives Matter Drops, More Voters Now Consider Unrest ‘Riots’ Not ‘Protests’
At the height of the summer, when anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests were happening in almost every major American city, support for the Black Lives Matter movement hit an all-time high of 67%, per Pew Research. As the summer wore on, though, and large-scale demonstrations sometimes gave way to isolated violence and destruction, support for the movement as a whole dropped by more than 10%, even though the rioters and looters were largely separate from the anti-racism activists.
“As racial justice protests have intensified following the shooting of Jacob Blake, public support for the Black Lives Matter movement has declined,” the polling authority notes. “A majority of U.S. adults (55%) now express at least some support for the movement, down from 67% in June amid nationwide demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd. The share who say they strongly support the movement stands at 29%, down from 38% three months ago.”
The decline isn’t just among white adults. Pew notes that Hispanics contacted for the poll also expressed waning support for the movement.
At the height of the summer, when anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests were happening in almost every major American city, support for the Black Lives Matter movement hit an all-time high of 67%, per Pew Research. As the summer wore on, though, and large-scale demonstrations sometimes gave way to isolated violence and destruction, support for the movement as a whole dropped by more than 10%, even though the rioters and looters were largely separate from the anti-racism activists.
“As racial justice protests have intensified following the shooting of Jacob Blake, public support for the Black Lives Matter movement has declined,” the polling authority notes. “A majority of U.S. adults (55%) now express at least some support for the movement, down from 67% in June amid nationwide demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd. The share who say they strongly support the movement stands at 29%, down from 38% three months ago.”
The decline isn’t just among white adults. Pew notes that Hispanics contacted for the poll also expressed waning support for the movement.
