This Chart Shows Black Lives Matter Has Squandered Its Moment
Black Lives Matter has lost all the good will it garnered amid nationwide racial justice protests, according to an authoritative poll released Monday.
SO WHAT
America’s racial “reckoning” left behind massive destruction and few tangible accomplishments so far.
THEN
The Pew Research Center found that in August 2017, 55% of Americans “strongly” or “somewhat” support Black Lives Matter.
- In June 2020 — following the death of George Floyd and the start of a massive uprising in the streets and the culture for racial justice and police reform — public backing of the left-wing anti-police organization peaked at 67%, per Pew.
NOW
The new Pew survey revealed that support for Black Lives Matter has regressed to the exact same level — 55% — where it was before the group led the would-be revolution of 2020.
Support for BLM is about the same as before the Floyd protests. pic.twitter.com/Jdn4iPnVcI
— Noah Smith 🐇 (@Noahpinion) September 27, 2021
Opposition to Black Lives Matter rose from 31% in June 2020 to 42% in September 2021, the poll showed.
- As Bloomberg Opinion writer Noah Smith pointed out on Twitter, Americans responded to the question of whether they support Black Lives Matter nearly the same way they did to being asked, “Are you a Republican or a Democrat?”
WHAT CHANGED?
The George Floyd protests, with Black Lives Matter at the forefront, fueled unprecedented destruction: thousands of police injuries, a handful of deaths and at least a billion dollars in property damage, according to estimates.
- Across the U.S., violent crime surged a record 30% in 2020, an FBI annual report showed Monday, as many cities embraced activists’ calls to “defund the police.”
- The Black Lives Matter brand was also tarnished by revelations about the group’s radical social views and questionable financial dealings.
SAME ENERGY
Despite congressional Democrats’ symbolic support for Black Lives Matter protesters, federal police reform legislation was declared dead this week.
.@SenatorTimScott argues Democrats' police reform proposal "reduces funding" to law enforcement pic.twitter.com/mh0qzOMMhV
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) September 25, 2021
Meanwhile, cities across the U.S. have quietly reversed course and started to “refund the police.”