Shifting Views on Racial Discrimination

Americans’ views on racial discrimination in the country have been under a spotlight since Black Lives Matter protests reignited following the death of George Floyd at the end of May. The protests and policy issues arising from them have quickly become politicized, and data shows how Republicans’ views on racial discrimination have shifted in recent years.

A new poll from Monmouth University shows just 40 percent of Republicans believe racial discrimination is a big problem in the U.S., with 35 percent saying it’s not a problem at all. That’s a big shift from earlier in June, when the same poll showed 54 percent of Republicans saw racial discrimination as a big problem in the country and just 15 percent believed it wasn’t a problem at all.

According to Monmouth, this quick shift in public opinion has been almost entirely caused by partisanship. Among those who are non-Republican, opinion has barely shifted on the prevalence of racial discrimination in the country over the past month.

Sentiments on the Black Lives Matter movement have shifted mostly positive in the last four years. Monmouth shows 71 percent of Americans agree the movement has brought attention to real racial disparities in the country compared to just 26 percent who disagree. That’s up from 2016, when 58 percent agreed with the movement and 35 percent disagreed.