Six years after the racially-charged George Floyd protests ravaged U.S. cities, Americans doubt that the weeks of often destructive and riot-plagued unrest in 2020 actually brought about improvement in the lot of African Americans, a national Rasmussen survey reveals.
In a survey of likely U.S. voters conducted May 13-17, Rasmussen asked the following question:
“Did the protests over George Floyd’s death make life better for most African Americans?”
Only one in four Black voters (24%) report that the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 made life better for most African Americans - less than half the 51% who say the protests did not help. Ironically, a higher percentage of Hispanic voters (33%) think the protests improved the lives of African Americans, more than any other racial demographic.
Just one in five (20%) of all those surveyed say the protests improved the lives of African Americans, while more than half (54%) say they didn’t.
Contrary to the liberal, legacy media’s continued narrative, the riots and civil disorder during the 2020 protests were destructive on a historic scale. More than $1 billion of riot damage was done – the most in insurance history – much of it to minority-owned businesses and property.
Younger voters are far more optimistic than older voters about the effects of the protests. Fully 39% of 18-29 year-olds say the protests improved African Americans’ lives, but that view declines steadily by age group to just 13% of those 65 and older.
Democrat voters (28%) are more likely than either Republicans (17%) or Independents (13%) to think the protests were beneficial to African Americans.
Democrats are also the most prone to believe that there will be “more racial protests as widespread as those over George Floyd’s death” in the next few years, with 68% calling it either “very likely” (34%) or “somewhat likely” (34%).
In contrast, 61% of Republicans expect more protests, including 24% who think they’re very likely. Among unaffiliated voters, 62% say it’s at least somewhat likely that there will be racial protests in the next few years as widespread as the protests sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minnesota Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who was ultimately found guilty of murder.
Among all voters surveyed, nearly two-thirds (64%) expect more protests equaling those in 2020, including 34% who think it’s very likely they’re in the nation’s future.
