Poll: Support for Black Lives Matter doubles since 2016

Support in the U.S. for the Black Lives Matter movement has more than doubled since 2016, according to a poll released Thursday. 

Fifty-seven percent of American adults said they have a favorable opinion of Black Lives Matter, according to the Yahoo News-YouGov survey, compared to 27 percent who said the same in a similar poll four years ago.

The increase was seen across party lines, with Democrats still leading Republicans and independents in voicing support for the movement. 

An overwhelming 84 percent of respondents who are Democrats now say they have a favorable opinion of the Black Lives Matter movement, a 30-point jump since 2016. Support among independents jumped to 55 percent from 21 percent four years ago. 

Just 27 percent of Republican respondents said they have a favorable opinion of Black Lives Matter in the recent poll, but that is more than six times the 4 percent who said the same in 2016. 

Thirty-three percent of U.S. adults in the 2020 survey said they have an unfavorable opinion of the movement, including just 10 percent of Democrats, 32 percent of independents and 66 percent of Republicans. 

The shift in support follows nationwide protests over racial inequality and police brutality sparked by George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody last month. Floyd died after an officer knelt on his neck for several minutes as Floyd said he couldn’t breathe. Four officers have since been fired and charged in the killing. 

The poll surveyed 1,570 U.S. adults and was conducted between June 9 and 10. The margin of error is 3.4 percentage points.