May 25 is the fifth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. Every day this week, the Equal Justice Society is sharing a remembrance of Mr. Floyd, examining the impact he had on this country, and renewing our commitment to honor his legacy.
Below is text from an article on pewreseaerch.org by Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Kiana Cox, and Kiley Hurst detailing the results of a poll released on May 7, 2025: “Views of Race, Policing and Black Lives Matter in the 5 Years Since George Floyd’s Killing.”
Floyd’s murder, just months after the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, sparked nationwide protests. Millions of Americans marched in communities across the country, drawing attention to issues of racial inequality, including the treatment of Black people by police.
In June 2020, more than eight-in-ten U.S. adults said they were following news about the demonstrations “very” (42%) or “fairly” closely (42%). This was similar to the high level of attention Americans had been paying to news about COVID-19.
The Black Lives Matter movement, which first rose to prominence in 2013 following George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, reached a high point in favorability during the 2020 protests, with 67% of U.S. adults expressing support. And a Pew Research Center analysis shows that use of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag peaked following Floyd’s killing.
Some called the summer of 2020 a time of racial reckoning in America. But in the years since, Americans have expressed growing skepticism that the events of 2020 produced significant change.
In September 2020, 52% of U.S. adults said the increased focus on issues of race and racial inequality would lead to changes that would improve the lives of Black people; 46% said it would not.
Five years later, 72% say the increased focus on race and racial inequality after Floyd’s killing did not lead to changes that improved the lives of Black people. The share of Americans who express support for the Black Lives Matter movement stands at 52% today, a drop of 15 percentage points compared with June 2020.
Commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has also declined. Companies have pulled back on DEI initiatives, and workers’ views of them have grown more negative. This was the case even before President Donald Trump signed an executive order eliminating DEI policies in the federal government and urging the private sector to do the same.
More broadly, some Americans have grown more pessimistic that Black people will eventually have equal rights with White people. Among those who say the country hasn’t made enough progress on racial equality, 49% express doubt that Black people will ever have equal rights with White people, up from 39% in 2020.