A new poll shows that support for the Black Lives Matter movement has skyrocketed, while a majority of Americans disagree with the “law and order” approach adopted by Donald Trump in response to growing nationwide protests.
The new Yahoo News/YouGov poll studied support for the movement that first arose in response to high-profile killings of unarmed black men and women, often at the hands of police officers. Though past polls showed that just one-quarter of Americans supported this movement just four years ago, support today stands at 57 percent, with just 33 percent viewing the movement unfavorably.
As a Yahoo News report noted, the sharp rise in support corresponds with the growing nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Protests have grown in hundreds of American cities, suburbs, and small towns, with many taking to the streets to demand justice for Floyd and an end to systemic racism.
The report called the abrupt rise in support for Black Lives Matter has brought on a “sea chance in perceptions of race in America,” noting that a strong majority now believe that systemic racism is a problem in the country.
“As a result, 60 percent of Americans now say that ‘racism is built into American society’ and that ‘the assumption of white superiority pervades schools, business, housing and government.’ An identical number say the police have a problem with systemic racism; even more (63 percent) say America has a problem with it,” the report noted.
A majority of those surveyed, 53 percent, also said that “many” Americans are racist, while 8 percent believed that “most” Americans are racist. A total of 69 percent believed that race was a factor in Floyd’s killing, including 54 percent who said it was a “major” factor.
With the change in perception of the Black Lives Matter movement, public opinion on past protests — even controversial ones — has changed as well. As the report noted, 52 percent of Americans said it is OK for NFL players to take a knee during the national anthem in protest of the killing of African Americans. In a 2016 survey, just 28 percent said this was appropriate.
Trump has remained opposed to players taking a knee, taking to Twitter this week to criticize those who take this form of protest. But the poll found that sentiment appears to be moving away from Trump’s view on the matter. Only 36 percent said they believe that “law and order” would help improve the situation in the United States, an approach that Trump has vocally advocated for both in public appearances and on Twitter.
