A majority of Americans said in a new poll from the Pew Research Center that the murder of George Floyd did not lead to changes that improved the lives of Black Americans.
Floyd was murdered when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine seconds, sparking a racial reckoning and protests throughout the country in summer 2020.
The Pew poll found 72% of Americans say the increased focus on racial inequality did not lead to any significant changes that helped Black people. Only 52% of Americans said they support Black Lives Matter, down 15 percentage points from June 2020.
Nearly half of Black Americans, 49%, said they doubt they will ever have equal rights with white Americans, up from 39% in 2020.
A majority, 54%, of adults said the relationship between Black individuals and police is the same as before Floyd's murder, while a third said things are worse, and only 11% said things are better.
Less than half of white adults, 45%, acknowledged support for Black Lives Matter, compared to 76% of Black adults, 61% of Hispanics and 61% of Asian Americans. Black Lives Matter has greater support among Democrats, 84%, versus Republicans at 22%.
Pew surveyed 5,079 adults from Feb. 10-17. Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The margin of sampling error is ±1.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.