More than 70 percent of Americans see George Floyd's death as part of a larger racial problem. That's a huge change since 2014.


In a notable change from 2014, a clear majority of Americans in a new poll say George Floyd's killing was not an isolated incident but part of a larger racial injustice problem.
In an ABC News/Ipsos poll released on Friday, when asked if they believe Floyd's death "is an isolated incident or a sign of broader problems in the treatment of African Americans by police," 74 percent of respondents said it's a sign of broader problems, with just 26 percent believing it to be an isolated incident.
ABC notes this is a "significant shift" from December 2014, when a similar question in an ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 51 percent of Americans saw the recent deaths of Michael Brown, a black man shot by a white police officer, and Eric Garner, a black man who was put in a chokehold by a white police officer, as isolated incidents, while only 43 percent said they were signs of a larger problem.
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In the new poll released on Friday, in fact, a majority of whites, blacks, Hispanics, Democrats, Republicans, and independents were all on the same page that Floyd's death is part of a larger problem, ABC reports, whereas in 2014, 60 percent of whites saw the deaths of Brown and Garner as isolated incidents.
The ABC News/Ipsos poll was conducted by speaking to a random national sample of 706 adults from June 3-4. The margin of error is 4.3 percentage points. Read more at ABC News.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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