Evidence from 2020 BLM Protests on Race Relations and Local Ethnic Tensions

• In Event: Lightning Round: Graduate Student Research: Ideas, Institutions, Coalitions & Movements

Abstract

Do social protests affect perceptions of ethnic relationships equally? That is, while largely polarizing and dynamic social protests may worsen perceptions of race relations across America, are community appraisals of ethnic tensions insulated from effects, when the protest is no more than a story on the news? To answer these questions, I use survey data from five YouGov surveys taken before and after the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests that occurred in response to the killing of George Floyd by police.
First founded in 2012 after the killing of Trayvon Martin, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has become a household name for many in America. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was killed during an arrest over a suspected counterfeit 20-dollar bill. His death sparked an outpouring of protests, many peaceful, some not, over the summer of 2020; many of which were spearheaded by BLM organizers. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) recorded that between 26 May, the day after Floyd’s death, and 22 August, over 7,750 demonstrations occurred that had links to the BLM movement, with protests across more than 2,440 locations in all 50 states and Washington, DC (ACLED, 2020). This paper examines survey data before and after this time frame and whether this three-month span of treatment of BLM protests affected public opinion on the outlook of race relations, specifically appraisals between racial and ethnic groups.

Author

• Sara Bornstein, The George Washington University