UC Davis

Using the American National Election Study (ANES) survey from 2020, I analyze the relationship between concern for other racial and ethnic groups and how hopeful respondents are about how things are going in America. In May 2020, protests broke out across the country in response to George Floyd’s death. Roughly 15 million to 26 million people in America participated in protests and demonstrations in response to George Floyd’s death (Buchanan 2020). These massive protests and the inclusive media coverage of the events provide a unique time period where race and ethnicity were at the forefront of discussion and concern for many Americans. Because these BLM and George Floyd protests were so close to the 2020 pre-election ANES survey, which was administered between August 18, 2020, and November 3, 2020, I hypothesize that individuals’ concerns regarding race and ethnicity would be salient during this time. Additionally, I expect that the extensive media coverage of the protests would make some respondents more aware of the current conditions for racial and ethnic minorities. Therefore, I expect that the level of concern respondents felt for other racial and ethnic groups affects their perspective of our current conditions in the U.S. and negatively affects how hopeful respondents feel about how things are going in the country.