After this summer’s spike in public awareness of racism in the U.S., attitudes have cooled and public demand for change has fallen, according to a new poll from Axios and SurveyMonkey.
Support for the protests and political demonstrations following the killing of George Floyd has fallen 10 percentage points since June, nearly halving among Republicans (from 30% to 17%) while dropping less substantially among independents (67% to 59%) and Democrats (91% to 86%). Support fell about equally among whites (56% to 46%), Blacks (86% to 78%), Hispanics (66% to 56%), Asians (68% to 59%), and those of another race (57% to 47%).
Similarly, the number of people who say they have a favorable view of Black Lives Matter dropped eight points since June, with Republicans and independents reporting decreases of 9 percentage points and eight percentage points, versus just four among Democrats. Fewer than half of whites now say they have a favorable view of Black Lives Matter, down from 57% in June. Among Blacks, 79% have a favorable view, down from 88% in June. Hispanics, Asians, and those of other races all have decreases of similar magnitudes.
In the latest survey, 91% of people in the country say they feel safe in their community where they live, with 51% saying they feel “very safe.” Whites are more likely than everyone else to say they feel “very safe” (57%), with Hispanics (43%), Asians (42%), Blacks (38%), and people of other races (40%) are about equally likely to say they feel “very safe.”
Majorities of suburban (54%) and rural Americans (58%) say they feel “very safe” in the communities where they live, but just 40% of urban Americans say the same. In every geographic area, men are more likely than women and whites are more likely than people of color to say they feel “very safe” in their community.
This male-female gap on safety is largest among those living in rural areas (an 11 percentage point gap, compared with five percentage point gaps between men and women who live in both urban and suburban areas.
Similarly, the gap between the percentages of whites and Blacks who feel “very safe” is the largest in rural areas, widening from a 14 percentage point gap among those in urban areas to a 15 point gap in suburban areas to a 19 point gap in rural areas.
For full results, click through the interactive toplines below.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
