Steven Long and Justin McCarthy of Gallup report Two in Three Americans Support Racial Justice Protests:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — About two in three Americans (65%) support the nationwide protests about racial injustice that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in late May. Half say they feel “very” (23%) or “somewhat connected” (27%) to the protests’ cause. Black Americans, young adults and Democrats are among the most likely groups to support and feel connected to the protests.
The latest results are based on a June 23-July 6 survey conducted by web using the Gallup Panel, a probability-based panel of U.S. adults, in English. Learn more about the findings from this survey and others at the Gallup Center on Black Voices.
Majorities of most subgroups support the protests, with Republicans (22%) a key exception. Republicans are also least likely to report feeling connected to the protests, with 14% saying they feel very or somewhat connected to the cause.
While small majorities of White Americans and adults aged 50 and older support the protests, fewer in these groups report feeling connected to them.
One sometimes hears that the public cannot manage more than one topic at a time, but continuing support for these protests during a pandemic and a recession shows that view is off-the-mark: Americans are more than able to address several major concerns in the same months. More to the point, addressing seemingly disparate concerns at the same time may truly represent a general, underlying desire for social and economic renewal.