BLM
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized activist movement and network of organizations founded in 2013 by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, who created the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin.[1][2] The initiative, self-described by its founders as a "Black-centered political-movement-building project" led by "trained Marxists," advocates dismantling what it terms institutional racism, white supremacy, and state-sanctioned violence against Black communities, including through calls to abolish policing and prisons.[2][3] The movement gained prominence following high-profile incidents such as the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, sparking nationwide protests that highlighted grievances over policing practices.[4] It peaked in scale during 2020 demonstrations after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, mobilizing millions globally but also coinciding with riots, arson, and property destruction estimated to exceed $2 billion in insured losses across U.S. cities.[4] The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to manage donations, amassed approximately $90 million in 2020 primarily from small individual contributions, yet disbursed only a fraction to local grants while incurring multimillion-dollar operational deficits, funding luxury real estate purchases by executives, and facing lawsuits over alleged financial mismanagement and missing funds totaling at least $9 million.[5][6][7] These issues, compounded by internal leadership disputes and the foundation's push for policies like "defund the police" that correlated with subsequent rises in urban homicide rates amid officer morale declines, have drawn criticism for prioritizing ideological activism over effective community aid.[8][9]Origins and History
Founding in 2013
The Black Lives Matter movement originated on July 13, 2013, when activist Alicia Garza posted the phrase “black lives matter” on Facebook in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012.[10] [11] Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, had been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter but was found not guilty by a six-person jury, accepting his self-defense claim that Martin had initiated the physical assault.[12] Garza framed the verdict as proof of systemic devaluation of Black lives, prompting Patrisse Cullors to add the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter and, with Opal Tometi, launch the movement.[1] Garza, a community organizer in Oakland, California, ended her Facebook post with the statement "black lives matter," framed as a direct rebuke to the acquittal and a call for Black communities to affirm their value amid perceived systemic devaluation.[10] [1] Garza's post emphasized collective self-love and resistance, stating it was "not an arguable statement" but a necessary assertion.[13] Patrisse Cullors, Garza's friend and fellow activist also based in Los Angeles, encountered the post and shared it online, appending the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter to amplify its reach on social media platforms.[2] Cullors then collaborated with Opal Tometi, a New York-based blogger and organizer, to develop the hashtag into an initial online platform aimed at fostering a "Black-centered political will and movement."[1] The trio self-described their effort as created by "three radical Black organizers," positioning it as a project to build awareness and mobilization against anti-Black violence.[2] In its nascent form during late 2013, #BlackLivesMatter functioned primarily as a decentralized social media campaign rather than a formal organization, with the founders leveraging networks from prior activism in labor, queer, and immigrant rights to promote discussions on police brutality and racial injustice.[1] No central funding or hierarchical structure existed at this stage; instead, it relied on viral sharing, with the hashtag appearing in thousands of posts within weeks, drawing from earlier precedents like Occupy Wall Street's use of digital tools for rapid dissemination.[11] The founders emphasized ideological roots in Black feminist traditions and queer liberation, though the slogan's interpretation quickly sparked debates over its implications for law enforcement accountability versus broader critiques of American society.[13] This online genesis laid the groundwork for subsequent protests, but in 2013, activity remained limited to digital advocacy and small-scale local events protesting the Zimmerman verdict.[2]Expansion Following 2014 Incidents
The death of Eric Garner on July 17, 2014, in Staten Island, New York, occurred during an arrest for selling loose cigarettes, when NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo applied a chokehold, leading to Garner's cardiac arrest despite his repeated statements of "I can't breathe."[14] These events prompted immediate protests in New York City, energizing early Black Lives Matter activism and drawing attention to allegations of excessive police force.[15] On August 9, 2014, Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown following an altercation, igniting days of unrest marked by looting, arson, and confrontations with police deploying tear gas and rubber bullets.[16] The Ferguson disturbances, lasting over two weeks, attracted national media scrutiny and positioned Black Lives Matter as a central organizing force, with co-founders Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi traveling there to coordinate demonstrations and support local groups.[17] This incident catalyzed a surge in visibility for the movement, as thousands participated in street actions and the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag proliferated on social media platforms.[17] Subsequent grand jury decisions—not to indict Wilson on November 24, 2014, and not to indict Pantaleo on December 3, 2014—sparked coordinated protests in dozens of U.S. cities, including marches, die-ins, and disruptions of public spaces like Black Friday shopping events.[18] These actions marked BLM's transition from a hashtag-based campaign to a network of decentralized efforts, with protests expanding beyond the initial sites to urban centers such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oakland.[19] Between August 2014 and August 2015, affiliated groups organized over 950 demonstrations worldwide, reflecting rapid organizational growth.[19] By mid-2015, nearly 30 local Black Lives Matter chapters had emerged across the United States, focusing on local issues like police accountability while linking to national narratives of systemic racial injustice.[20] This expansion was fueled by heightened public engagement, though mainstream coverage often emphasized unverified claims from Ferguson—such as the "hands up, don't shoot" gesture, later contradicted by federal investigations—potentially inflating perceptions of widespread justification for the unrest.[21]Growth During 2020 Protests
The death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin triggered a surge in protests across the United States, with many events explicitly organized or branded under the Black Lives Matter (BLM) framework.[22] These demonstrations, peaking in late May and June, encompassed over 4,700 recorded events nationwide and drew an estimated 15 to 26 million participants, establishing the response as one of the largest sustained protest movements in American history.[22] Participation extended beyond urban centers, including rural and suburban areas, and involved diverse demographics, though turnout was highest among Black Americans, with about 10% reporting attendance compared to 5% of white adults.[23] Public awareness and sympathy for BLM-aligned causes escalated rapidly, with support among U.S. adults climbing to 67% by June 2020, up from lower levels in prior years.[24] The movement's visibility amplified through social media, where the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag generated over 1.13 million Instagram posts in the initial protest wave, facilitating rapid mobilization and global dissemination of protest footage and demands.[25] Corporate responses further boosted prominence, as America's 50 largest public companies pledged at least $49.5 billion to racial equity efforts between May 2020 and mid-2021, often citing BLM protests as a catalyst.[26] Financial inflows to the BLM Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) marked a pivotal organizational expansion, with the group raising over $90 million in 2020—predominantly from small individual donations averaging $30.76—compared to minimal prior revenue.[27][28] Of these funds, $21.7 million was allocated to 30 Black-led local organizations and BLM chapters, enabling capacity-building such as staffing, events, and advocacy initiatives; 22 recipients were led by LGBTQIA+ organizers.[29][30] This influx supported network growth, transitioning from roughly 30 chapters pre-2020 to enhanced operations across dozens of U.S. and Canadian locales by 2021, though the decentralized structure limited centralized membership tracking.[30]Ideology and Goals
Core Principles and Slogan Interpretation
The slogan "Black Lives Matter" originated in a July 13, 2013, Facebook post by co-founder Alicia Garza, in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, asserting that black lives possess inherent value amid perceived systemic disregard by the criminal justice system.[10] Proponents interpret the phrase as a targeted affirmation against anti-black racism and disproportionate police violence, not a negation of other lives' worth, emphasizing empirical disparities such as black Americans being 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police than whites when adjusted for population.[31] [32] Black Lives Matter's core principles were formalized in 13 guiding tenets developed in the movement's early years, including restorative justice, empathy, loving engagement, diversity, globalism, queer-affirming practices, trans-affirming stances, collective value (prioritizing communal resources over individual ownership), intergenerational accountability, and commitments to black families, black villages (extended communal caregiving to supplant nuclear family structures), black women, and unapologetic black identity.[33] [34] These principles extend beyond anti-police brutality to ideological aims like fostering queer networks free from heteronormativity and disrupting traditional family units through collective child-rearing.[35] The now-removed "What We Believe" statement on the official website, archived prior to its 2020 deletion amid public scrutiny, explicitly articulated these elements, such as intending "to disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure" via village-based support for black children and building "a queer-affirming network" to escape straight-normative constraints.[35] [36] Current official pillars, as stated on blacklivesmatter.com, shift toward abolitionist frameworks, including ending police and prisons, policy interventions for economic access, healing justice, frontline organizing against state violence, and cultural upliftment, while affirming collective community safety over punitive systems.[2] Critics interpret the slogan as implicitly hierarchical or divisive, arguing it overlooks the primary drivers of black mortality—such as black-on-black homicides, which accounted for 89% of black murder victims in FBI data—by focusing protests nearly exclusively on police-involved deaths (roughly 250 annually, or 0.006% of black homicides) rather than broader causal factors like urban crime patterns.[37] [38] This selectivity, per analyses, aligns the movement's activism with ideological priorities over comprehensive life preservation, contrasting the slogan's surface-level appeal to universal human dignity.[39]Marxist Influences and Broader Demands
Patrisse Cullors, one of Black Lives Matter's co-founders, described herself and her fellow organizers as "trained Marxists" in a 2015 interview, stating, "We actually are super versed on ideological theories" and emphasizing their use of Marxist frameworks to analyze societal issues.[40] This self-identification aligns with Cullors' training under Eric Mann, a self-proclaimed revolutionary Marxist who mentored her through the Labor/Community Strategy Center, where she developed views critical of capitalism as perpetuating racial oppression.[41] Alicia Garza, another co-founder, has echoed anti-capitalist sentiments, asserting that "black lives can't matter under capitalism" and advocating for systemic economic restructuring.[42] These Marxist influences manifest in BLM's framing of racial injustice as intertwined with class exploitation, rejecting reforms within existing capitalist institutions in favor of transformative demands that challenge private property and state power. For instance, Cullors has credited Marxist theory with informing BLM's strategy to "build a world that the police cannot operate in," prioritizing ideological disruption over incremental policy changes.[43] Critics, including analysts from conservative think tanks, argue this reflects a cultural Marxist approach that substitutes class struggle with identity-based conflict, though BLM leaders maintain their Marxism informs a pragmatic focus on black liberation rather than rigid dogma.[44] Beyond police accountability, BLM's platform encompasses broader socioeconomic demands, such as "defund the police" to redirect funds toward community services, ending cash bail, and establishing reparations for historical injustices, as outlined in the Movement for Black Lives' 2016 policy agenda signed by numerous BLM-affiliated groups.[45] The original "What We Believe" statement on the BLM website advocated disrupting the "Western-prescribed nuclear family structure" by promoting extended kinship networks and collective child-rearing, a position removed in September 2020 amid backlash but reflective of Marxist critiques of the family as a tool of capitalist reproduction.[46] Additional demands include federal cash payments, rent forgiveness, and community control over resources in black neighborhoods, positioning racial equity as requiring wealth redistribution and abolition of punitive systems like prisons.[47] These elements extend BLM's scope from criminal justice to a comprehensive reordering of economic and social institutions.Decentralized vs. Centralized Tensions
The Black Lives Matter movement originated as a decentralized network of autonomous local chapters, emphasizing a "leaderfull" model without strict hierarchy to foster grassroots activism and local relevance. This structure allowed chapters to operate independently, tailoring actions to regional issues like police accountability, but it lacked centralized coordination for funding or strategy. The establishment of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) in 2013, formalized as a nonprofit in 2016, introduced a fiscal sponsor role that centralized major donations and national-level decisions, creating inherent frictions between local autonomy and top-down control.[48] Tensions intensified in 2020 following the George Floyd protests, when BLMGNF received approximately $90 million in donations, primarily directed to the national entity rather than local groups. Local chapters, expecting broader distribution to support on-the-ground organizing, received limited aid; for instance, despite BLMGNF raising $13 million by mid-2020, chapter leaders reported minimal financial support and opaque grant processes, with few qualifying for announced awards up to $500,000. In November 2020, a coalition of 10 chapters known as #BLM10 issued an open letter accusing BLMGNF of lacking transparency, bypassing democratic consultation on decisions like forming a political action committee and corporate partnerships, and co-opting grassroots efforts, prompting several to sever ties while retaining the BLM name due to its untrademarked status.[48][49][50] These disputes extended to leadership and priorities, with chapters criticizing executive director Patrisse Cullors' unilateral appointment and a perceived shift toward national political engagements, such as meetings with figures like Joe Biden, over local police reform. BLMGNF countered that many dissenting chapters were not formally affiliated, justifying restricted fund access, and later reported distributing over $13 million to chapters in its 2020-2021 impact report. Cullors resigned in May 2021 amid broader scrutiny, including personal property purchases, though she attributed her departure to burnout rather than internal pressures.[48][51][52] Escalating conflicts led to legal action, as a coalition of BLM Grassroots chapters sued BLMGNF in September 2022, alleging mismanagement of assets built collectively and undue control by consultants like Shalomyah Bowers, who was accused of funneling millions through his firm. The suit highlighted how centralized control had sidelined local input on resource allocation, but it was dismissed in June 2023 on free speech grounds. These rifts underscored a core paradox: the movement's decentralized ethos clashed with the practical needs of managing large-scale funds and messaging, resulting in persistent fragmentation where many chapters operate independently, prioritizing local accountability over national directives.[53][54][48]Organizational Structure and Leadership
BLM Global Network Foundation
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that functions as the central coordinating entity for the Black Lives Matter movement, claiming co-founders Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. Established to advance advocacy against racial discrimination and support affiliated chapters, it initially operated under fiscal sponsorship before achieving independent status. The foundation positions itself at the core of a network including over a dozen local chapters, though it has experienced tensions over resource allocation and autonomy with grassroots groups.[55][56] Patrisse Cullors served as executive director from the organization's early years until her resignation on May 27, 2021, citing a need to focus on personal projects including a book and media production; her departure followed public scrutiny over multiple real estate purchases, including properties valued at over $3 million, which drew questions about the use of donor funds despite the foundation's denial of direct involvement in those transactions. Board members as of early 2022 included Shalomyah Bowers, a music promoter, and Raymond Howard, a businessman, reflecting a shift from the original founders in leadership roles.[52][57][56] Financially, the foundation reported raising $90 million in donations during 2020 amid heightened visibility from protests following George Floyd's death, with expenditures including over $37 million disbursed by 2023 primarily on grants, staff, and operations, leaving approximately $42 million in cash reserves as of May 2022. It has since distributed more than $35 million to 70 organizations focused on policy and community efforts, alongside $1.5 million in microgrants to individuals. However, the foundation has faced persistent allegations of mismanagement, including the 2020 purchase of a $6 million Los Angeles compound intended for creator workspaces but criticized as extravagant, and contracts awarded to firms linked to insiders, prompting lawsuits from activists claiming fraud and self-dealing.[5][58][59] As of 2025, the BLMGNF remains operational but embroiled in legal battles, including a lawsuit filed against the Tides Foundation alleging withholding of $33 million in donations intended for the organization, with claims of deceptive practices by Tides, a left-leaning grantmaker; the foundation has also requested an investigation by the California Attorney General into the matter. These disputes, coupled with earlier chapter separations over fund distribution, underscore ongoing internal fractures and questions about transparency in handling tens of millions in assets.[60][56][61]Local Chapters and Autonomy
Black Lives Matter operates as a decentralized network of local chapters, each granted substantial autonomy to tailor activism to community-specific needs, such as organizing protests, mutual aid programs, or policy campaigns independent of any central directive. This structure emerged organically following the 2013 hashtag's inception, with chapters forming grassroots-led entities that share core principles like opposing state-sanctioned violence but retain control over local operations and resource allocation.[62][63] Efforts to coordinate nationally through the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), established around 2016 as a fiscal sponsor, introduced tensions over autonomy, as the foundation centralized fundraising—collecting over $90 million in 2020 donations—without proportionally distributing funds or decision-making power to chapters. Local groups criticized BLMGNF for operating with minimal accountability, prompting ten chapters in December 2020 to sever ties and form the BLM Grassroots network, accusing the foundation of effectively isolating chapters from movement resources without consent.[64][65] By 2021, approximately 40 autonomous chapters persisted across the United States and Canada, with BLM Grassroots expanding to 51 chapters by mid-2025, including international and incarcerated-led groups, underscoring the movement's resilience through independent local entities amid national leadership disputes. These separations highlighted causal frictions: centralized financial opacity eroded trust, as empirical audits revealed BLMGNF's expenditures on real estate and consulting—$6 million on a California property and high fees to insiders—diverted from grassroots priorities, per chapter statements and state filings.[66][67][68] Autonomy enables diverse local outcomes, from sustained community investments in cities like Los Angeles to policy advocacy in others, but it also fragments unified action, as evidenced by post-2020 declines in coordinated national protests and internal divisions over ideological priorities like defunding police. Chapters' independence from BLMGNF, which disclaimed control over the broader movement, reinforces a model where local efficacy depends on volunteer-driven efforts rather than top-down mandates, though critics from within note risks of diluted impact without fiscal transparency.[69][70]Key Founders and Leadership Changes
Black Lives Matter was initiated in July 2013 by activists Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, who created the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin.[1] Garza, a community organizer with the National Domestic Workers Alliance, wrote the initial Facebook post declaring "black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter," which Cullors and Tometi amplified into a broader online call to action.[71] The trio, all Black women with backgrounds in grassroots organizing, positioned the effort as a decentralized network rather than a single entity, emphasizing political education and resistance to anti-Black violence.[13] Cullors emerged as the most prominent leader, serving as executive director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), a nonprofit formed to provide fiscal sponsorship and infrastructure support for the movement's activities, which she helped establish around 2014.[72] Under her leadership, the foundation grew significantly, particularly after 2020 protests, raising approximately $90 million in donations that year alone.[73] Garza and Tometi maintained influential but less centralized roles; Garza later co-founded the Black Futures Lab for policy research, while Tometi focused on immigrant rights advocacy through her organization.[74] Leadership shifted markedly in May 2021 when Cullors resigned as BLMGNF executive director after nearly six years, citing a planned transition to pursue writing and media projects, though the move coincided with investigations into the organization's finances and her personal real estate purchases totaling over $3 million in properties.[52][57] Post-resignation, the foundation faced internal disputes, including lawsuits from local chapters alleging mismanagement of funds, and leadership became less transparent, with tax filings from 2022–2023 listing figures like Raymond Howard in administrative roles but no clear executive successor.[75] This opacity reflected ongoing tensions between the original founders' vision of a leaderless network and the centralized demands of managing large-scale donations.[56]Protests and Activism
Early Demonstrations (2014–2016)
The Black Lives Matter movement's early demonstrations crystallized around high-profile police encounters, beginning with the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Black male, by Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014. Protests erupted the following day, initially involving peaceful marches but quickly escalating into nightly unrest marked by looting of businesses, arson of vehicles and structures, and exchanges of gunfire with police, prompting Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to deploy the National Guard on August 18.[76] Over the ensuing weeks, authorities reported hundreds of arrests for offenses including failure to disperse, property damage, and burglary, alongside injuries to both protesters and officers amid the use of tear gas and rubber bullets by law enforcement.[77] The St. Louis County grand jury's announcement on November 24, 2014, declining to indict Wilson—subsequently corroborated by a U.S. Department of Justice investigation finding insufficient evidence of a civil rights violation and rejecting the "hands up, don't shoot" account as inconsistent with forensic and witness evidence—ignited a second wave of protests nationwide.[78] Demonstrations spread to more than 150 cities, featuring tactics such as highway shutdowns, die-ins simulating deaths, and disruptions of public events, with over 300 arrests reported in Ferguson alone during the immediate aftermath, including 58 in one night amid renewed arson and clashes.[79] These actions amplified the movement's visibility, though federal probes later highlighted that initial narratives driving much of the outrage, including claims of Brown's surrender, lacked evidentiary support.[80] Parallel protests emerged from the July 17, 2014, death of Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York, following a chokehold by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo during an arrest for selling untaxed cigarettes; Garner repeated "I can't breathe" 11 times on bystander video before losing consciousness. The grand jury's non-indictment of Pantaleo on December 3, 2014, spurred immediate rallies across U.S. cities, with New York seeing thousands block bridges, tunnels, and highways, resulting in over 200 arrests in the city that night alone.[81] A coordinated national day of action on December 13 drew an estimated 25,000 marchers in Manhattan chanting Garner's words, marking one of the largest early BLM mobilizations, though no federal charges ensued against Pantaleo, who was later fired in 2019.[82] In 2015, demonstrations intensified with the April 19 death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black male, from spinal injuries incurred during transport after his April 12 arrest in Baltimore for possessing a switchblade. Protests peaked violently after Gray's funeral on April 27, devolving into riots with looting of pharmacies and other stores, arson of police vehicles and buildings, and clashes throwing rocks and bottles at officers, causing an estimated $20 million in property damage.[83] Baltimore police reported over 200 arrests during the unrest, alongside injuries to at least 20 officers, leading to a citywide curfew and National Guard deployment; while charges were filed against six officers, most were acquitted or dropped by 2016, underscoring evidentiary challenges in prosecuting the case.[84] Other 2015 actions responded to incidents like the April 4 shooting of Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina, captured on video showing him fleeing unarmed, prompting the officer's murder conviction but highlighting persistent patterns of force disputes. These events, often blending organized marches with opportunistic violence, solidified BLM's protest repertoire through 2016, influencing public discourse on policing despite subsequent legal clearances in several focal cases.[85]Nationwide Uprisings (2020)
The nationwide uprisings associated with Black Lives Matter in 2020 were primarily triggered by the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where video footage showed a police officer kneeling on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill.[86] Protests erupted in Minneapolis the following day, May 26, initially focused on demands for the officers' arrest and broader police accountability, but quickly escalated with the burning of a police precinct on May 28 amid widespread arson and looting.[87] By early June, demonstrations had spread to over 2,000 cities and towns across all 50 states, with peak participation estimated at half a million people on June 6 alone in nearly 550 locations.[22][88] Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) indicate that between May 24 and August 22, 2020, over 10,600 demonstration events occurred in the United States, with approximately 95% linked to Black Lives Matter or George Floyd solidarity, though the vast majority—93% to 96%—remained peaceful without reports of violence, vandalism, or clashes.[87] However, a subset involving riots, looting, and property destruction caused significant disruption, particularly in urban centers like Minneapolis, Portland, and Kenosha, Wisconsin; ACLED recorded about 5% of events featuring violence by demonstrators, including attacks on police or property.[87] Insured property damage from these incidents totaled between $1 billion and $2 billion, marking the costliest civil disorder in U.S. insurance history, with underreported losses likely higher due to uninsured claims and long-term economic effects on small businesses, including many minority-owned.[89][90] Violence extended to human costs, with over 900 law enforcement officers injured nationwide during the unrest, including more than 277 federal officers in Portland alone.[91] At least 25 deaths were linked to protests and associated political unrest by October 2020, encompassing protesters, bystanders, and others in incidents ranging from shootings during riots to vehicle rammings; early estimates from May to June cited 19 fatalities, though not all were directly attributable to demonstrators.[92][93] Notable flashpoints included the establishment of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) zone in Seattle on June 8, which lasted until July 1 and saw multiple shootings, and unrest in Kenosha following the August 23 shooting of Jacob Blake, involving arson of dozens of buildings and vehicles.[87] Federal and local responses intensified as unrest persisted, with President Trump deploying federal agents to protect courthouses in Portland, where nightly clashes continued for over 100 days, and invoking the Insurrection Act as a threat against "anarchist jurisdictions."[87] Arrests exceeded 14,000 by late June, primarily for curfew violations, looting, and assault, though enforcement varied by jurisdiction.[94] By late summer, participation waned amid COVID-19 surges, election dynamics, and fatigue, though sporadic demonstrations continued into 2021; ACLED's full-year tally reached over 22,900 political events, underscoring the uprisings' scale while highlighting that sustained violence was concentrated in fewer than 220 locations.[95][87]Post-2020 Actions and Declines
Following the peak of nationwide unrest in 2020, Black Lives Matter's protest activities persisted in response to police shootings and other incidents but occurred on a diminished scale with shorter durations and lower turnout compared to prior years. For example, demonstrations flared in Minneapolis in April 2021 after the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, leading to curfews and National Guard deployment, yet these events involved far fewer participants than the George Floyd protests and dissipated more quickly. Similarly, protests erupted in Columbus, Ohio, in April 2021 following the police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant, drawing hundreds but not sustaining the multicity mobilization seen in 2020. By 2022 and 2023, such actions became sporadic, often localized to specific cities like Memphis after the Tyre Nichols beating in January 2023, which prompted renewed calls for accountability but failed to reignite mass demonstrations nationwide.[62] The decline in protest intensity aligned with a broader reduction in demonstration frequency tracked by monitoring organizations, dropping sharply after summer 2020 as fatigue, legal repercussions from earlier events, and shifting public priorities took hold.[87] BLM's activism increasingly shifted toward online campaigns, policy lobbying, and institutional engagements rather than street protests, reflecting organizational pivots amid internal challenges.[62] Public support for the Black Lives Matter movement eroded markedly post-2020, contributing to its waning visibility and momentum. Surveys by the Pew Research Center showed approval falling from 67% of U.S. adults in June 2020 to 55% by September 2020, further declining to 51% by June 2023, with the drop driven primarily by reduced backing among white Americans (from 60% to about 40%) and independents.[24][11] By May 2025, support hovered around 52%, a 15-percentage-point decrease from 2020 peaks, per updated polling.[96] A 2024 American Enterprise Institute survey reported favorable views of BLM at 45%, contrasting with 75% for police, highlighting partisan divides where Democrats maintained higher support while Republicans' views plummeted.[97] Organizational factors accelerated the decline, including leadership instability and financial scrutiny within the BLM Global Network Foundation. Co-founder Patrisse Cullors resigned as executive director in May 2021 amid questions over multimillion-dollar real estate purchases linked to donor funds, eroding donor confidence.[98] The original three founders distanced themselves from the network by 2023, amid board upheavals and lawsuits alleging mismanagement of over $90 million raised in 2020.[98] These issues, combined with public backlash over perceived links to rising urban violence—such as homicide spikes in cities experimenting with police budget cuts—further diminished the movement's activist base and fundraising capacity.[99] By 2025, BLM's operational focus had narrowed to advocacy through its foundation, with street actions rare and largely absorbed into broader electoral or policy efforts.[58]Policy Advocacy and Demands
Defund the Police Initiative
The Defund the Police initiative, a core policy demand of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, gained national prominence following George Floyd's killing by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020, calling for substantial reductions in police budgets to redirect funds toward social services like mental health crisis response, affordable housing, education, and violence prevention programs.[100][101] BLM framed the demand as essential to dismantling systemic racism and corruption in law enforcement, arguing that over-reliance on policing perpetuated cycles of incarceration and community harm rather than addressing underlying socioeconomic factors.[101] BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors explicitly endorsed defunding in 2020 public statements and campaigns, including an open letter urging dramatic shifts away from traditional policing toward community investments that enable Black thriving beyond mere survival.[102] The BLM Global Network Foundation produced advocacy materials, such as infographics detailing steps for reallocating police funds, which garnered over 177,000 impressions as part of broader efforts to influence municipal budgets during the 2020 protests.[30] Proponents distinguished defunding from outright abolition—though the two often overlapped—emphasizing "non-reformist reforms" that divest from carceral expansion while building alternative safety infrastructures, as articulated in aligned policy platforms like those from the Movement for Black Lives.[103] Local implementations varied but were limited in scope and durability. In Minneapolis, the city council unanimously pledged on June 26, 2020, to dismantle the police department and establish a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention, aiming to replace sworn officers with unarmed responders for non-violent calls; this followed an initial June 7 council vote signaling intent to defund.[104] Other cities, including New York (which cut $1 billion from its police budget in June 2020, later partially restored) and Los Angeles (redirecting $100–150 million to community programs), enacted reallocations amid protest pressure, though these represented modest percentages of overall budgets—typically under 10%—and focused on overtime reductions or non-essential programs rather than core operations.[105] Peer-reviewed analyses of 2020–2022 budget data across U.S. cities reveal that BLM protests did not systematically produce defunding; instead, police expenditures often rose or stabilized, particularly in politically conservative areas where protests correlated with budget increases to bolster law enforcement capacity.[63] Only about 19% of studied municipalities reduced police funding in 2021, with many reversals by 2022 as violent crime surged—homicides up 30% nationally in 2020 per FBI data—prompting "refunding" efforts and voter rejections of abolitionist measures, such as Minneapolis's failed November 2021 ballot initiative to overhaul policing, which lost 56% to 44%.[106][107] These outcomes underscored tensions between the initiative's ideological push and practical governance constraints, with critics attributing partial budget trims to fiscal pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic rather than sustained policy shifts.[108]Criminal Justice and Systemic Reforms
The Black Lives Matter movement advocated for targeted reforms to enhance police accountability, including the widespread adoption of body-worn cameras equipped with public access to footage and the establishment of independent investigations into officer-involved killings by civilian oversight boards or special prosecutors.[109] These proposals, outlined in the 2015 Campaign Zero platform co-founded by BLM activists, aimed to increase transparency and deter misconduct by mandating departments to report detailed use-of-force data and limiting police access to military-grade equipment through demilitarization efforts.[110] Additionally, the movement pushed for ending qualified immunity, the judicial doctrine that protects officers from civil liability unless their actions violate "clearly established" rights, contending it systematically shields abusive behavior.[111] BLM-aligned groups, such as the Movement for Black Lives, demanded structural changes to incarceration practices, including the abolition of cash bail and pretrial detention systems, which they argued perpetuate racial disparities by disproportionately detaining low-income Black individuals pre-trial.[45] Their 2016 policy agenda, updated in 2020 via the Vision for Black Lives, called for ending the use of prior criminal history in employment and housing decisions, alongside reducing sentences for non-violent offenses and diverting funds from prisons to community-based alternatives like restorative justice programs.[112] The 2020 BREATHE Act, a legislative proposal championed by BLM organizers, sought to federalize these reforms by legalizing marijuana, decriminalizing sex work, and creating independent civilian-led departments for emergency response to non-violent calls, thereby shrinking the scope of traditional policing.[113] Broader systemic reforms emphasized addressing root causes of criminality through investments in mental health services, drug treatment, and economic development rather than expanded enforcement, with calls to repeal mandatory minimum sentences and three-strikes laws enacted during the 1980s and 1990s war on drugs.[109] The movement framed these demands as necessary to dismantle what they described as a racially biased system, citing statistics like Black Americans comprising 13% of the population but 33% of the prison population in 2015.[114] However, sources supporting these advocacy positions, including progressive policy organizations, often downplay crime rate differentials across demographics, which independent analyses attribute as primary drivers of incarceration disparities rather than inherent bias in sentencing or arrests.Economic and Community Investment Calls
Black Lives Matter advocates framed economic justice as a core pillar, arguing that systemic racism perpetuated economic disparities requiring targeted reallocations from punitive institutions to community-building initiatives. In their 2016 policy platform, released via the Movement for Black Lives coalition, BLM demanded divestment from prisons, policing, and military budgets to fund "real safety" through investments in jobs, education, and health services for Black communities.[112][45] This approach posited that economic empowerment, rather than law enforcement expansion, would address root causes of poverty and crime, though critics noted the absence of detailed fiscal mechanisms or empirical projections for outcomes.[115] Specific investment calls emphasized alternatives to policing, such as community-led mental health response teams, affordable housing programs, and universal childcare. The 2020 BREATHE Act, co-sponsored by BLM co-founders and congressional allies, proposed $10 billion annually for community land trusts, violence interruption programs, and reparative economic development in underserved areas, alongside ending cash bail and qualified immunity to redirect funds.[47] BLM's "Invest-Divest" demand explicitly called for reallocating resources to Black-led education and health initiatives, rejecting incarceration as a poverty solution in favor of workforce development and small business grants.[116] These proposals drew from historical Black activist traditions but faced scrutiny for overlooking market-based incentives or private sector roles in economic uplift.[117] Reparations emerged as a central economic demand, with BLM seeking compensation for historical injustices including slavery and redlining through direct payments, land grants, and corporate accountability. The platform envisioned "targeted long-term investments" in Black communities as reparative measures, including demands for corporations profiting from Black labor to fund endowments or equity stakes in affected families.[118][119] In 2021, BLM reiterated that reparations should be determined by Black communities, encompassing financial restitution and policy reforms like debt forgiveness, though without specifying implementation timelines or funding sources beyond divestment.[120] Proponents cited persistent wealth gaps—Black households holding about 13% of white household wealth in 2019 data—as justification, yet empirical studies on similar programs, like post-WWII GI Bill exclusions, highlighted uneven distribution risks.[45]Impacts and Empirical Outcomes
Achieved Policy Reforms
Following the 2020 protests spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement, at least 30 states and the District of Columbia enacted statewide legislative reforms to policing practices, including restrictions on use-of-force techniques and enhanced accountability measures.[121] These changes often responded to demands for limiting techniques associated with deaths in custody, such as chokeholds and neck restraints. Nine states and the District of Columbia implemented complete bans on chokeholds, while eight additional states restricted their use to situations warranting deadly force.[121] Specific municipal actions included Seattle's City Council unanimously banning chokeholds and neck restraints on June 8, 2020, alongside prohibitions on police use of crowd control weapons like tear gas during protests.[122] New York City followed on June 9, 2020, joining Minneapolis, Denver, Dallas, Houston, and Washington, D.C., in prohibiting the technique amid ongoing demonstrations.[123] States such as California, Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, and Virginia enacted broader bans by mid-2021, with Washington state signing comprehensive legislation in May 2021 that included chokehold prohibitions as part of a package addressing use-of-force standards.[124] At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a department-wide policy on September 14, 2021, barring its law enforcement components from using chokeholds or carotid restraints except when deadly force is authorized.[125] The movement also accelerated the adoption of body-worn cameras in police departments, building on earlier post-2014 Ferguson protests but gaining momentum after 2020 events. By 2016, 47% of general-purpose law enforcement agencies had acquired body cameras, rising to 80% among large departments, with formal policies in place for most users; subsequent expansions were linked to demands for greater transparency in officer-citizen interactions.[126] [127] Additional reforms influenced by protest pressures included mandates for de-escalation training and implicit bias education in various agencies, though implementation varied and empirical evaluations of long-term efficacy remain mixed.[62] Broader criminal justice adjustments encompassed localized measures like eliminating discriminatory grooming policies (e.g., bans on hair discrimination in several states) and school desegregation initiatives in select districts, but systemic overhauls such as widespread police budget reallocations under "defund" banners proved limited, with many initial pledges later rescinded or offset by funding increases.[128][129]Effects on Policing and Accountability
Following the 2020 protests spurred by George Floyd's death, numerous U.S. jurisdictions enacted police reforms aimed at enhancing accountability, including bans on chokeholds and no-knock warrants in states like California and New York, mandates for body-worn cameras in over 30 states, and the establishment or expansion of civilian oversight boards in cities such as Minneapolis and Seattle.[121][130] These measures sought to address perceived systemic issues in policing, with proponents arguing they would reduce excessive force and improve transparency.[115] Despite calls to "defund the police," empirical data indicate limited actual budget reductions; an analysis of 109 major agencies found only eight cut funding by more than 2% in 2020-2021, while 91 increased it by at least 2%, often redirecting minor portions to social services rather than comprehensive defunding.[131] However, the movement contributed to a nationwide crisis in police recruitment and retention, with new hires dropping 5% overall, retirements surging 19%, and agencies reporting persistent staffing shortages through 2023 due to heightened scrutiny and low morale.[132][133] This "de-policing" effect, where officers reduced proactive engagements to avoid complaints, was documented in studies of protest-impacted areas, potentially undermining accountability by straining remaining personnel.[134] Civilian oversight mechanisms proliferated post-2020, with a record number of cities creating or strengthening review boards to investigate misconduct, yet their effectiveness remains debated due to frequent lacks in subpoena power, resources, and independence from police unions.[135][136] Research indicates these bodies often facilitate community input but rarely lead to substantiated discipline or systemic change, with one review noting they require robust enforcement authority to impact legitimacy or reduce tensions effectively.[137][138] Regarding use of force, event studies found early BLM protest sites experienced a 10-15% drop in lethal force incidents immediately after 2014-2015 events, but national data from 2020-2023 show no sustained decline, with officer-involved shootings reaching a record 1,096 fatalities in 2022 and overall killings remaining stable or slightly elevated despite reforms.[139][140] Critics attribute this to incomplete implementation and external factors like rising crime, while advocates highlight incremental policy shifts without crediting them for broader accountability gains.[141][142]Consequences for Crime Rates and Public Safety
Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter-associated protests and riots, the United States recorded a sharp national increase in homicides, with FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data showing a nearly 30% rise from 2019 to 2020, the largest single-year jump in recorded history.[143][144] This surge extended into 2021 and 2022, with homicides in major cities averaging 42.6% higher in 2022 than in 2019, according to analyses of FBI and local data.[145] The increase was particularly acute in urban centers with intense protest activity and subsequent "defund the police" measures, such as reduced budgets, hiring freezes, and limits on proactive enforcement, which correlated with elevated violent crime in those locales.[108] A phenomenon akin to the earlier "Ferguson effect"—where public criticism and reduced police morale led to de-policing and crime spikes after the 2014 events—has been linked by researchers to the 2020 patterns, as officers pulled back from non-emergency interventions amid scrutiny and policy shifts.[146] In Chicago, for example, shooting incidents spiked immediately post-protests in mid-2020, with data showing a clear temporal alignment beyond pandemic effects alone.[147] Cities implementing defund-related cuts, including Minneapolis and Portland, experienced outsized homicide and aggravated assault increases through 2022, with clearance rates for murders dropping to around 50% nationally amid resource strains.[148][149] These trends disproportionately harmed Black Americans, who comprised over 50% of homicide victims despite being 13% of the population, with post-George Floyd violence elevating harm scores in minority neighborhoods by up to 47.7% in some analyses.[150] While some studies cite multifactor causes including pandemic disruptions, the unprecedented scale and timing of the 2020 spike—peaking in protest-heavy cities—support causal roles for unrest-induced policing retreats over isolated COVID effects.[151] By 2023, homicide rates fell approximately 16% from 2020 peaks as many municipalities reversed defund policies, restoring funding and officer numbers, though levels remained above pre-2020 baselines in affected areas.[152][153]Controversies and Criticisms
Financial Irregularities and Fundraising
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF), the fiscal arm handling national donations, raised approximately $90 million in 2020 following the death of George Floyd, primarily through small individual contributions via its website.[5] IRS Form 990 filings for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, reported $79.6 million in revenue, with expenses totaling $37.7 million, leaving net assets of $41.9 million.[154] However, only a fraction of funds reached local chapters or direct charitable causes; for instance, tax documents indicated $21.7 million in grants disbursed, but analyses revealed minimal allocations to grassroots affiliates, with some chapters receiving as little as $240,000 collectively amid widespread fundraising appeals.[5] [9] Financial scrutiny intensified over executive spending and asset purchases, including a $6 million Los Angeles property dubbed "Creator's House" acquired in 2020 as an organizational asset for secure operations and artist residencies.[155] Co-founder Patrisse Cullors, who resigned as executive director in May 2021, acknowledged purchasing four high-value properties totaling over $3 million for herself and family between 2016 and 2021, defending them as personal investments unrelated to BLM funds but amid questions of timing with the organization's influx.[156] Cullors also admitted to hosting multiple personal events at the BLM-owned mansion, prompting concerns from charity watchdogs about commingling of assets and potential personal benefit.[157] Tax filings further showed $2.1 million in consulting fees paid to entities linked to board members and executives, alongside security expenditures exceeding $6 million, including the property, while the annual operating budget hovered around $4 million.[5] [158] Lawsuits highlighted alleged mismanagement, with a coalition of BLM grassroots chapters filing suit against BLMGNF in September 2022, accusing it of self-dealing, failure to distribute funds to local groups, and diverting resources to consultants and insiders rather than mission-aligned programs.[53] The complaint claimed the foundation withheld tens of millions raised in the movement's name, using them for operational luxuries instead; the case was dismissed in June 2023 on procedural grounds, though it underscored governance opacity.[159] Separately, BLMGNF sued its former fiscal sponsor, the Tides Foundation, in 2024, alleging "egregious mismanagement" of over $33 million in earmarked donations, including unauthorized transfers and refusal to return funds, with nearly $9 million unaccounted for as of mid-2024.[160] [60] By 2023, tax records showed the organization facing deficits, with only about 33% of donations directed to charities and executive compensation reaching millions, contributing to perceptions of fiscal distress bordering on insolvency.[161] BLMGNF maintained it underwent independent audits confirming no fraud, publishing Form 990s on its site to affirm transparency, yet critics, including CharityWatch, cited persistent issues with board structure, insider grants, and delayed disclosures as eroding donor trust.[162] [163] Isolated criminal cases amplified concerns, such as the 2024 sentencing of BLM activist Sir Maejor Page to 42 months for wire fraud involving $1.1 million in misappropriated funds through a related nonprofit scheme.[164] Overall, while fundraising peaked amid 2020 protests, subsequent revelations of concentrated control, limited grassroots impact, and legal disputes revealed structural vulnerabilities in financial oversight.[8]Associations with Violence and Riots
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement's protests following George Floyd's death on May 25, 2020, were associated with widespread civil unrest across the United States, including incidents of arson, looting, vandalism, and clashes with law enforcement in multiple cities. According to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), of the approximately 7,750 BLM-linked demonstrations recorded through August 2020, 93% were peaceful with no reported property damage or violence, while 7% involved violent acts by demonstrators or destructive behavior.[87][165] However, these violent subsets had outsized impacts, with the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) reporting that about 10% of over 8,700 protests in major U.S. cities from May to August 2020 escalated to some level of violence, often involving coordinated groups exploiting the gatherings.[166] Property damage from the unrest reached record levels, with insured losses estimated at $1–2 billion nationwide, surpassing the previous U.S. high from the 1992 Los Angeles riots (adjusted for inflation). In Minneapolis-Saint Paul alone, damages exceeded $500 million across more than 1,500 locations in the initial week, including widespread arson of businesses and police facilities. Prolonged rioting occurred in cities like Portland, Oregon, where federal buildings were targeted nightly for over 100 days, resulting in federal charges against more than 100 individuals for crimes such as assault and conspiracy to riot. The U.S. Department of Justice reported over 300 federal prosecutions by September 2020 for offenses committed during the demonstrations, including interstate travel with intent to riot and destruction of federal property.[89][167][168] At least 25 deaths were linked to the 2020 protests and associated unrest through October, including 11 individuals killed while participating in demonstrations, with causes ranging from shootings during clashes to vehicle rammings and other violent incidents. Early tallies by June 2020 documented around 19 fatalities amid the chaos, though not all were directly attributable to BLM protesters; some involved counter-protesters, opportunists, or bystanders caught in crossfire. Over 14,000 arrests occurred nationwide for protest-related crimes, including thousands for felonies like burglary and assault.[92][93] While BLM's official stance condemned violence and emphasized peaceful action, the decentralized nature of the protests facilitated associations with radical elements, including out-of-state agitators and groups like Antifa, who federal officials identified as contributing to escalation in investigations. Attorney General William Barr described the riots as hijacking legitimate protests, with some events featuring organized domestic terrorism tactics. Certain BLM-affiliated figures downplayed property destruction; for instance, co-founder Patrisse Cullors characterized it as a legitimate part of an "uprising" rather than criminality in interviews. Critics, including law enforcement analyses, argued that anti-police rhetoric at rallies—such as chants implying harm to officers—correlated with spikes in targeted attacks on police, with over 2,000 officers injured nationwide during the unrest.[169][166]Ideological and Internal Divisions
The Black Lives Matter movement, while unified in opposing racial disparities in policing, exhibited ideological tensions stemming from its founders' explicit embrace of Marxist principles. Co-founder Patrisse Cullors stated in a 2015 interview that she, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi were "trained Marxists" versed in ideological theories, framing the movement's origins within a framework aimed at disrupting capitalism and traditional institutions like the nuclear family, as outlined in early BLM manifestos calling for communal family models over patriarchal structures.[40][170] This radical orientation contrasted with more reformist elements within local chapters and supporters who prioritized incremental criminal justice changes over systemic abolition, leading to debates on whether BLM should focus narrowly on police accountability or broader anticapitalist goals like wealth redistribution and ending "racial capitalism."[171][45] Organizational divisions intensified after the 2020 protests, as the BLM Global Network Foundation sought to centralize control over $90 million in donations, prompting backlash from autonomous chapters accustomed to decentralized operations. In December 2020, representatives from over 30 chapters accused the national body of a "power grab," excluding local leaders from decisions on fund allocation and strategy, which Garza and Tometi—now distanced from the global entity—publicly criticized as undermining grassroots efforts.[48] Cullors resigned as executive director in May 2021, citing personal attacks but amid internal scrutiny over financial decisions, including property purchases that fueled perceptions of elite capture diverging from movement ideals.[52][172] Further fractures emerged at the chapter level, exemplified by the January 2021 resignation of Minneapolis organizer Trahern Crews, who cited discovering the national organization's misaligned priorities, such as insufficient support for local victims of violence despite fundraising in their name. These conflicts highlighted a rift between ideologically driven national leadership—rooted in abolitionist and anti-capitalist visions—and pragmatic local activists focused on immediate community safety and resource distribution, eroding cohesion as funds remained unallocated to chapters years later.[173][174] By 2022, lawsuits alleging executive mismanagement of over $10 million underscored how ideological purity claims clashed with operational realities, alienating rank-and-file participants who viewed the central apparatus as detached from on-the-ground needs.[175]Reception and Public Opinion
Polling Trends and Support Shifts
Support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement surged in the United States following the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, reaching a peak amid widespread protests. A Pew Research Center poll conducted in June 2020 reported that 67% of U.S. adults expressed support for the movement.[24] Similarly, a Rasmussen Reports survey from early June 2020 found 62% of likely voters held a favorable view of BLM, up significantly from prior years.[176] Gallup polling in late July 2020 indicated 65% approval for the associated racial justice protests.[177] Support began eroding shortly thereafter, with a Pew survey in September 2020 showing a drop to 55% overall approval.[178] By June 2023, Pew recorded 51% support, reflecting a 16-point decline from the 2020 peak, driven primarily by reduced backing among white adults (from 60% to 45%).[24] A May 2025 Pew poll confirmed ongoing softening, with support at 52%, a net 15-point decrease since June 2020; Black adults maintained relatively steady approval around 83%, while non-Black support fell more sharply.[178] Favorability ratings in a May 2024 poll cited by the American Enterprise Institute stood at 45% for BLM, contrasting with 75% for police.[97] Partisan divides were pronounced and widened over time. In June 2020, Pew found 92% of white Democrats supported BLM compared to 37% of white Republicans; overall Democratic support exceeded 85%, while Republican approval hovered below 30%.[23] By 2023, the gap persisted, with 86% of Democrats versus 18% of Republicans expressing support.[179] Polls also highlighted demographic consistencies: Black support remained above 80% across periods, whereas Hispanic and Asian approval declined from mid-60s to around 50% by 2023.[179] The following table summarizes key national polling trends on BLM support or favorability:| Date | Pollster | Support/Favorability (%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2020 | Pew | 67 | Peak post-Floyd; overall U.S. adults.[24] |
| June 2020 | Rasmussen | 62 | Likely voters; favorable view.[176] |
| July 2020 | Gallup | 65 | Support for racial justice protests.[177] |
| Sep 2020 | Pew | 55 | Early decline.[178] |
| June 2023 | Pew | 51 | Drop led by whites.[24] |
| May 2025 | Pew | 52 | Stable low; Black support steady.[178] |
| May 2024 | Various (AEI) | 45 | Favorability.[97] |