FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 25, 2024
Contacts:
Bilen Mesfin Packwood, bilen@change-llc.com
Ahuatl Amaro, ahuatl@change-llc.com
Black Futures Lab Publishes Findings from Largest Ever Survey of Black People Ahead of November Elections
Survey polled more than 200,000 Black people on pressing social and political issues
Atlanta, GA – Today, the Black Futures Lab released the full results of its Black Census Project, a survey of 211,000 Black people across all 50 states. The Black Census Project is the largest survey of Black people in American history. Conducted in partnership with Socioanalítica Research, the 2023 Black Census aimed to capture the diverse experiences of Black Americans, collaborating with more than 50 Black-led grassroots organizations, over a dozen national media partners, and Black influencers through October 2023.
“Black voters have consistently determined the outcome of key elections, and our communities will ultimately cast their votes for candidates they believe will deliver for us this November,” said Kristin Powell, Principal of Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund. “And while Black communities are the bedrock of American democracy, too often we’re excluded from policy decisions that directly impact our lives. The Black Census is historic; no other survey sheds light on Black attitudes and opinions across demographics and geography like the Black Census.”
For the second Black Census, Black Futures Lab polled respondents on their top social concerns, support for proposed policies, and attitudes toward political parties and elected leaders. Survey respondents identified low wages, gun violence, and education outcomes as among their top three concerns. Nearly four-in-ten (38%) respondents named that low wages are not enough to sustain a family as their top concern. Gun violence (33%) and schools that fail to prepare children adequately (31%) round up the top three.
When asked about policy solutions that address their top concerns, the vast majority of respondents expressed support for increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour (95%), increasing and expanding unemployment insurance (90%), and increasing and expanding government aid (94%).
On questions related to political parties and politicians, respondents expressed a more favorable view of the Democratic Party (69% favorable and 22% unfavorable) when compared to the Republican Party (7% favorable and 84% unfavorable). Eighty-five percent of Black Census male respondents identify or lean toward the Democratic Party, while overall 91% of Black women prefer the Democratic Party. Among Democratic Party politicians, Vice-President Kamala Harris (71%) is viewed most favorably. Donald Trump is the most disliked figure among respondents with only five percent (5%) expressing a favorable opinion of the former president, while 85% have an unfavorable opinion.
When asked about their opinions on government and business institutions, nearly seven-in-ten (69%) of respondents expressed an unfavorable opinion of the Supreme Court, while only 9% said they have a great deal or a lot of confidence in the police and 58% said they have little or not at all. Half of the respondents (50%) said they have a great deal or a lot of confidence in small businesses.
“The Black Census is more than the biggest, most comprehensive survey of Black communities across America; it is also a clear mandate for policy solutions that will improve the lives of Black people, Black families and Black communities,” said Alicia Garza, founder and board member of the Black Futures Lab. “We developed the Black Census to gain deep insight on what motivates Black voters in order to harness our power and mobilize Black communities to win justice and lasting change.”
Black Futures Lab will use the results of the second Black Census to design and launch the Black Economic Agenda on August 8, 2024. The Black Economic Agenda is a policy roadmap that will inform legislators nationwide of the key economic priorities of Black communities across America. It also will be used to activate and engage over 250,000 Black voters in advance of elections.
The 2023 Black Census is seven times larger than the 2018 Black Census Project, in which more than 30,000 Black people from across the country participated. Black Futures Lab used those results to identify pressing legislative and policy priorities, turning the survey into a national, state, and municipal policy platform to guide 2020 Presidential candidates as they devised strategies to earn the support of Black voters.
About the Black Futures Lab
Black Futures Lab works with Black people to transform our communities, building Black political power, and changing the way that power operates—locally, statewide, and nationally. Our mission is to engage Black communities year round, using our political strength to stop corporate influences from creeping into public policies, and combining technology and traditional organizing methods to reach Black people anywhere and everywhere we are. blackfutureslab.org
About Black to the Future Action Fund
The Black to the Future Action Fund works to make Black communities powerful in politics, so that we can be powerful in the entirety of our lives. We work to enact policies that improve the lives of Black communities, and to elect Black and pro-Black legislators with progressive values who move progressive policies. Together we work to ensure that Black people have what all people deserve —dignity, safety, and power. https://black2thefuture.org