While white adults were more likely than other groups to think the words “dangerous” or “divisive” characterize the Black Lives Matter movement extremely or very well, 50% of Black adults said the word “dangerous” does not.
About half of U.S. adults still support the Black Lives Matter movement, a decrease compared to the past three years.
According to CNN, a study released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center found that 51% of Americans support the Black Lives Matter movement either strongly or moderately.
The numbers indicate a decline from the 56% of Americans who supported the movement last year and the roughly 70% who did so more closely after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
The conclusions are based on an online survey from April 10 to April 16 among a randomly chosen sample of 5,073 American adults, derived from a panel initially gathered using probability-based approaches.
Eighty-one percent of Black adults stated they were in favor of the movement. According to the poll, 63% of Asian adults and 61% of Hispanics agreed, in contrast to 42% of White individuals.
The research shows that the smaller numbers of white adults who identify as supporters of the movement are mostly to blame for the decline, given that the overall proportion of Black and Hispanic adults has remained roughly unchanged over the past year.
When asked which adjectives best describe the movement, about a third of Americans responded with the words “dangerous” and “divisive.”
While white adults were more likely than other groups to think the words characterize the Black Lives Matter movement extremely or very well, the poll found that 50% of Black adults said the word “dangerous” does not.
Persons who identify as Black, Hispanic, or Asian are more likely than white adults to believe that “empowering” fits the movement exceptionally or very well. However, 34% of respondents generally agreed with the statement regarding the word “divisive.”
Adults under 30 were more inclined to support the campaign than all other age categories. The study also reveals a sizable political-ideological gap.
According to the poll, 84% of Democrats and Democratic leaners favor the Black Lives Matter movement, compared with 82% of Republicans and Republican leaners who oppose it.
As for the movement’s influence on several issues, 32% of adults felt the campaign had successfully drawn attention to racism toward Black people. Smaller proportions — 7%, 8%, and 14% — of respondents felt the movement improved racial relations, improved the lives of Black people, and increased police accountability, respectively.
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