The majority of voters approve of the demonstrations that began after the death of George Floyd.
A Hill/HarrisX poll released on Monday found that 57% of registered voters approve of the demonstrations, and 43% disapprove. The protests began as an outcry following Floyd’s death and have since evolved to call attention to systemic racism and police brutality on a more macro scale.
The survey, which was conducted online from June 8-11 among 2,853 registered voters, found a wide gap in support based on political affiliation. Among Democrats, the protests have 79% approval, while over a majority of registered Republicans, 65% in total, disapprove of the demonstrations.
There was also a stark contrast between age groups. Seventy-four percent of those aged 18 to 34 said they approve, while the approval among those aged 35 to 49 declined to 61%. Among those aged 50 to 64, approval dipped to 48%, and only 43% of voters over the age of 65 said they support the movement.
Among black voters, 84% approve of the protests, while 66% of Hispanics feel the same. White voters were evenly split, with 50% expressing approval. The poll has a 1.8% margin of error.
The survey comes after a Yahoo News/YouGov poll conducted last week found that 57% of U.S. adults hold either a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of Black Lives Matter, a dramatic increase from when the same survey found only 27% of people supported Black Lives Matter in 2016. The movement began in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted of Trayvon Martin’s death and has since grown.
Footage was released last month that showed Floyd, an unarmed black man, being pinned to the ground on Memorial Day by a white police officer for nearly nine minutes while pleading to breathe. Floyd died in police custody, and all four officers involved in his arrest have been charged with crimes. The main officer involved, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
