Killing of Houston native George Floyd didn't spur major changes: Poll
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Police escort the body of longtime Houstonian George Floyd, who was murdered by Minneapolis police officers, in 2020. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
A vast majority of Americans say the increased focus on race and racial inequality after former Houstonian George Floyd was murdered by police did not lead to changes that improved the lives of Black Americans, a new Pew Research Center survey finds.
Why it matters: Floyd's 2020 murder by Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on his neck sparked international protests and calls to tackle systemic racism, but five years later, that momentum appears all but gone.
By the numbers: Five years later, 72% of Americans say the increased focus on racial inequality didn't lead to significant changes that helped Black people, per the survey, released last week.
- Now 52% of Americans express support for the Black Lives Matter movement, a 15 percentage points drop from June 2020.
- In addition, 49% doubt that Black Americans will ever have equal rights with white Americans, up from 39% in 2020.
- More than half of U.S. adults (54%) say the relationship between Black people and police is about the same as before Floyd was killed. A third say things are now worse, while just 11% say things are better.
Zoom in: Floyd's death ignited a push for police reform in his native Houston that still resonates today.
- Former Mayor Sylvester Turner organized a now-disbanded task force on policing reform in July 2020 to study and make recommendations for changes within the Houston Police Department.
- Turner implemented only some of those recommendations, including the creation of an Independent Police Oversight Board and Office of Police Reform and Accountability.
The big picture: The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement convinced companies to commit to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, but President Trump's anti-DEI executive orders have now forced many corporations to abandon those promises.
The intrigue: Support for BLM remains high among Black adults, Latinos, Democrats and young adults, while fading among white Americans.
- Black adults (76%), Hispanics (61%) and Asian Americans (61%) still express greater support for Black Lives Matter than white adults (45%).
- Among Democrats, Black Lives Matter garners 84% support vs. 22% among Republicans.
Zoom out: Half of U.S. adults say they feel exhausted extremely often or very often when thinking about the state of race and racial issues in the U.S. today.
- 82% of Black Americans say the nation has not gone far enough when it comes to Black people having equal rights with White people.
- About half or fewer among white, Hispanic and Asian Americans say this, the poll found.
What they're saying: Sunny Slaughter, a law enforcement expert and CourtTV legal analyst, says she understands why so many Americans feel like the racial reckoning didn't lead to lasting change.
- "People feel exhausted. The momentum of 2020 doesn't look the same—and I get that."
Methodology: The report is based on the responses of 5,079 U.S. adults from Feb. 10-17, 2025. This includes adults on the Center's American Trends Panel (ATP). Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors.
- The margin of sampling error is ±1.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.