The Effect of the Black Lives Matter Movement On American Attitudes

The present research focuses on changing attitudes towards Black Lives Matter (BLM) and racism. Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013, but came to a political and social forefront following the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020. Based on research that large-scale movements have the capability of creating long term attitudinal changes, this research seeks to address the significance of BLM on attitudes in undergraduate students. Participants were recruited from University of Richmond Introduction to Psychology courses over the Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, and Spring 2022 semesters. They completed a survey assessing their attitudes towards BLM, race, and racism, and results found that participants tended to support Black Lives Matter. Many participants rated high support as well as significant changes in their attitudes towards the movement, with many participants providing further reasoning and evidence throughout qualitative data