For anyone who has been protesting and is wondering whether their voice being heard, here’s the polling that shows that Americans are changing their minds as a result of your actions.
Americans Support Protests and Overall Change:
Police Racism: 74% of Americans (up from 43% in 2014) and 70% of Whites (up from 35% in 2014) agree that what happened to Floyd exemplifies a systemic rift between law enforcement and black communities in the country. (ABC, 6/5/20)
General Racism & Discrimination: “In a Monmouth University poll released this week, 76 percent of Americans — including 71 percent of white people — called racism and discrimination “a big problem” in the United States. That’s a 26-percentage-point spike since 2015.” (NYT, 6/5/20)
Sympathetic To Protestors:
1. 64% of American adults are “sympathetic to people who are out protesting right now.” (Reuters, 6/4/20)
2. Twice as many Americans are more concerned by the police’s actions than violence at some protests. (WSJ, 6/7/20)
Trump Inflaming Racial Tensions: Two-Thirds of Americans believe Trump has increased racial tensions since George Floyd’s death (NPR, 6/6/20)
Americans Want Major Police Reform:
According to a 2017 CATO Institute poll (note that the numbers are likely much higher since the protests):
- “79% of Americans support having outside law enforcement agencies investigate police misconduct, rather than leave it to the department to handle.”
- “65% of Americans believe racial profiling is commonly used, [and] nearly the same share oppose it.”
- 88% support training police on how to de-escalate conflicts and avoid using force – up from 68% in 2017 (May 2020 Yahoo/YouGov Survey).
- 53% think local police departments should not use military weapons and armored vehicles
- “89% support the police wearing body cameras.”
- “73% support a law requiring police officers to notify citizens when a stop is voluntary and they are free to decline a search”
- “54% favor treating drug offenses like minor traffic violations with small fines rather than as felonies.”
- “84% support ending a practice called civil asset forfeiture in which police may take money or property of a person they suspect may have been involved in a crime before the person is convicted.”
- “67% support banning neck restraints as a police tactic” (May 2020 Yahoo/YouGov Survey).
- “80% support implementing an early warning system to identify problematic” (May 2020 Yahoo/YouGov Survey).
How To Take Action And Pressure Lawmakers:
Text DEMANDS to 50409 to request police reform in your community.
