From its peak in 2020, Black Lives Matter has been mired in one scandal after another. One of its former executives, self-described Marxist Patrisse Cullors, was found to have quite the real estate portfolio. BLM also paid her graffiti artist brother more than $800,000 for "security services." And the charity secretly purchased a glamorous multi-million dollar mansion in LA with cash from donors just five months after Floyd's death.
Overall, questions have been raised from both activists and opponents about the group's shady finances, with left-wing Amazon even suspending the organization from its charity platform for failing to disclose where millions in donations have gone.
Needless to say, the disillusionment with the group is widespread, which explains the latest poll numbers.
During the height of the George Floyd protests, BLM enjoyed support among 67 percent of U.S. adults, but now, three years later, that support has dropped significantly. According to a new Pew Research Center survey, just 51 percent of Americans support BLM, which is down even from a year ago, when 56 percent said they strongly or somewhat support the movement. Opposition is also at its highest point, with 46 percent of U.S. adults against the group, whereas in June 2020, that figure was at an all-time low of 31 percent.
Not surprisingly, support is highest among Democrats and left-leaning individuals (84 percent), younger adults ages 18-29 (64 percent), and black adults (81 percent).
Still, most do not believe BLM has been effective in improving race relations in the country.
Roughly a third of Americans (32%) say the Black Lives Matter movement has been extremely or very effective at bringing attention to racism against Black people.
Smaller shares say the movement has been highly effective at increasing police accountability (14%), improving the lives of Black people (8%) and improving race relations (7%). In fact, more than half of Americans say the movement hasn’t been too or at all effective in improving the lives of Black people or improving race relations (57% and 61%, respectively). (Pew Research)
BLM isn't only losing support among Americans in the polls. Its cash flow has also plummeted in the wake of the multiple scandals that have engulfed the charity. For the fiscal year that ended in June 2022, BLM brought in $9.3 million, a whopping 88 percent drop from the year prior and significantly lower than its high of $80 million in 2020, according to records seen by the Washington Free Beacon.
