Many learn nigh ancestors, U.Southward. Black history from family

A photo of a Black man in a dark blue suit and blue and white checkered button up underneath looking at reflection of himself on a building. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Pew Inquiry Center conducted this assay to understand the rich variety of Black people in the The states and their views of Blackness identity. This in-depth, robust survey explores differences among Black Americans in views of identity such as between U.S.-born Blackness people and Black immigrants; Black people living in different regions of the country; and between Blackness people of unlike ethnicities, political party affiliations, ages and income levels. The analysis is the latest in the Center'south series of in-depth surveys of public stance among Blackness Americans (read the first, "Organized religion Amid Black Americans").

The online survey of 3,912 Black U.S. adults was conducted Oct. 4-17, 2021. The survey includes ane,025 Blackness adults on Pew Enquiry Center'southward American Trends Panel (ATP) and ii,887 Black adults on Ipsos' KnowledgePanel. Respondents on both panels are recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses.

Recruiting panelists by phone or mail service ensures that nearly all U.South. Black adults take a take chances of selection. This gives united states of america confidence that whatever sample can represent the whole population (see our Methods 101 explainer on random sampling). Here are the questions used for the survey of Blackness adults, forth with its responses and methodology.

The terms "Black Americans", "Black people" and "Black adults" are used interchangeably throughout this written report to refer to U.S. adults who self-identify as Blackness, either lonely or in combination with other races or Hispanic identity.

Throughout this report, "Blackness, non-Hispanic" respondents are those who place as unmarried-race Black and say they have no Hispanic background. "Black Hispanic" respondents are those who identify as Black and say they have Hispanic groundwork. We use the terms "Blackness Hispanic" and "Hispanic Black" interchangeably. "Multiracial" respondents are those who signal two or more racial backgrounds (one of which is Black) and say they are not Hispanic.

Respondents were asked a question near how important existence Black was to how they call up most themselves. In this report, we utilize the terms "existence Black" and "Blackness" interchangeably when referencing responses to this question.

In this written report, "immigrant" refers to people who were not U.Due south. citizens at nascency – in other words, those built-in outside the U.Due south., Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories to parents who were not U.S. citizens. We utilise the terms "immigrant" and "foreign-born" interchangeably.

Throughout this report, "Democrat and Democratic leaners" refers to respondents who say in they identify politically with the Autonomous Party or are contained but lean toward the Autonomous Political party. "Republican and Republican leaners" refers to respondents who identify politically with the Republican Party or are independent but lean toward the Republican Party.

To create the upper-, middle- and lower-income tiers, respondents' 2020 family unit incomes were adjusted for differences in purchasing ability by geographic region and household size. Respondents were and so placed into income tiers: "Middle income" is defined equally two-thirds to double the median annual income for the entire survey sample. "Lower income" falls below that range, and "upper income" lies above information technology. For more information about how the income tiers were created, read the methodology.

No matter where they are from, who they are, their economic circumstances or educational backgrounds, pregnant majorities of Black Americans say being Black is extremely or very important to how they call up about themselves, with about iii-quarters (76%) overall maxim so.

Pie chart showing most Black adults say being Black is very important to how they see themselves

A significant share of Black Americans also say that when something happens to Black people in their local communities, across the nation or around the world, information technology affects what happens in their own lives, highlighting a sense of connectedness. Black Americans say this fifty-fifty as they have diverse experiences and come from an array of backgrounds.

Even so, Black adults who say being Black is important to their sense of self are more likely than other Blackness adults to feel continued to other groups of Black people. They are too more than likely to feel that what happens to Black people inside and outside the Us affects what happens in their own lives. These findings emerge from an all-encompassing new survey of Black U.S. adults conducted by Pew Research Center.

A majority of not-Hispanic Black Americans (78%) say existence Black is very or extremely important to how they think almost themselves. This racial group is the largest among Black adults, bookkeeping for 87% of the developed population, co-ordinate to 2019 Census Agency estimates. But among other Blackness Americans, roughly six-in-10 multiracial (57%) and Hispanic (58%) Blackness adults say this.

Black Americans also differ in key ways in their views well-nigh the importance of being Black to personal identity. While majorities of all age groups of Black people say existence Blackness shapes how they call up most themselves, younger Black Americans are less probable to say this – Black adults ages 50 and older are more likely than Black adults ages 18 to 29 to say that being Black is very or extremely of import to how they think of themselves. Specifically, 76% of Black adults ages 30 to 49, eighty% of those 50 to 64 and 83% of those 65 and older hold this view, while only 63% of those nether 30 practice.

Chart showing non-Hispanic Black adults most likely to say being Black is extremely or very important to how they see themselves

Black adults who identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party are more probable than those who place with or lean toward the Republican Party to say being Black is important to how they see themselves – 86% vs. 58%. And Black women (80%) are more than probable than Blackness men (72%) to say beingness Black is of import to how they meet themselves.

Even so, some subgroups of Black Americans are about as likely every bit others to say that being Black is very or extremely important to how they recollect most themselves. For example, U.Due south.-born and immigrant Black adults are near equally likely to say being Black is of import to how they see their identity. However, not all Black Americans experience the same nearly the importance of being Black to their identity – xiv% say it is only somewhat important to how they encounter themselves while 9% say it has little or no touch on on their personal identity, reflecting the diversity of views about identity among Black Americans.

Bar chart showing that about half of Black adults say their fates are strongly linked with other Black people in the U.S.

Beyond the personal importance of Blackness – that is, the importance of existence Black to personal identity – many Black Americans feel connected to each other. About v-in-ten (52%) say everything or most things that happen to Blackness people in the United states of america affect what happens in their ain lives, with some other 30% maxim some things that happen nationally to Blackness people have a personal impact. And 43% say all or well-nigh things that happen to Blackness people in their local community touch on what happens in their ain lives, while some other 35% say just some things in their lives are afflicted past these events. Near 4-in-ten Black adults in the U.South. (41%) say they feel their fates are strongly linked to Black people around the world, with 36% indicating that some things that happen to Black people around the world affect what happens in their own lives.

The survey too asked respondents how much they have in common with different groups of Black Americans. Some 17% of Black adults say they accept everything or nigh things in common with Black people who are immigrants. But this sense of commonality differs sharply by birth: xiv% of U.S.-born Black adults say they have everything or most things in common with Black immigrants, while 43% of Black immigrants say the same. Conversely, only virtually one-in-4 Blackness immigrants (26%) say they have everything or most things in common with U.Due south.-born Black people, a share that rises to 56% among U.S.-born Black people themselves.

Nearly i-tertiary of Blackness Americans (34%) say they have everything or about things in common with Black people who are poor, though smaller shares say the same well-nigh Black people who are wealthy (12%). Relatively few Blackness Americans (fourteen%) say they take everything or most things in common with Black people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ). Yet, a larger share of Black Americans (25%) say they have at least some things in common with Black people who identify as LGBTQ. All these findings highlight the diversity of the U.S. Blackness population and how much Black people feel connected to each other.

These are among the primal findings from a contempo Pew Inquiry Center survey of three,912 Black Americans conducted online October. four-17, 2021. This study is the latest in a serial of Pew Enquiry Centre studies focused on describing the rich multifariousness of Blackness people in the U.s..

The nation'south Black population stood at 47 million in 2020, making up 14% of the U.S. population – up from thirteen% in 2000. While the vast majority of Black Americans say their racial background is Black alone (88% in 2020), growing numbers are too multiracial or Hispanic. Nearly were born in the U.S. and trace their roots dorsum several generations in the land, but a growing share are immigrants (12%) or the U.S.-born children of immigrant parents (9%). Geographically, while 56% of Black Americans live in the nation's South, the national Black population has likewise dispersed widely beyond the land.

It is this diversity – among U.S.-built-in Black people and Blackness immigrants; between Black people who live in different regions; and across different ethnicities, party affiliations, ages and income levels – that this study explores. The survey besides provides a robust opportunity to examine the importance of race to Black Americans' sense of cocky and their connections to other Black people.

The importance of beingness Black for connections with other Black people

Bar chart showing Black Americans who say being Black is important to them are more likely to feel connected to other Black people

The importance of being Black to personal identity is a significant factor in how connected Black Americans feel toward each other. Those who say that beingness Blackness is a very or extremely important office of their personal identity are more than likely than those for whom Blackness is relatively less important to limited a sense of common fate with Black people in their local communities (50% vs. 17%), in the U.s.a. overall (62% vs. 21%), and even around the world (48% vs. 18%).

They are also more than likely to say that they accept everything or most things in common with Black people who are poor (37% vs. 23%) and Black immigrants (19% vs. 9%). Yet, fewer than half of Blackness Americans, no matter how of import Black is to their personal identity, say they have everything or most things in common with Black people who are poor, immigrants or LGBTQ.

The importance of Black for knowing family unit history and U.S. Blackness history

The new survey also explores Blackness Americans' cognition about their family unit histories and the history of Black people in the Us, with the importance of Blackness linked to greater noesis.

Bar chart showing Black adults who say being Black is important to them are more likely to learn about their ancestors from relatives

Nearly six-in-ten Black adults (57%) say their ancestors were enslaved either in the U.S. or another country, with about all who say and then (52% of the Black adults surveyed) saying it was in the U.S., either in whole or in function. Blackness adults who say that being Blackness is a very or extremely important role of how they see themselves (61%) are more probable than those for whom being Black is less important (45%) to say that their ancestors were enslaved. In fact, Black adults for whom Blackness is very or extremely important (31%) are less likely than their counterparts (42%) to say that they are not sure if their ancestors were enslaved at all.

When it comes to learning more about their family unit histories, Blackness adults for whom Blackness is very or extremely important (81%) are more likely than those for whom Blackness is less of import (59%) to have spoken to their relatives. They are about as likely to take researched their family unit's history online (36% and 30%, respectively) and to have used a postal service-in Deoxyribonucleic acid service such every bit AncestryDNA or 23andMe (15% and sixteen%) to learn more about their ancestry.

The importance of Blackness also figures prominently into how informed Black Americans feel about U.S. Blackness history. Black adults who say Black is a significant role of their personal identity are more likely than those for whom Blackness is less of import to say that they feel very or extremely informed about U.S. Black history (57% vs. 29%). Overall, about one-half of Black Americans say they feel very or extremely informed about the history of Black people in the United States.

Among Black adults who experience at least a lilliputian informed about U.South. Blackness history, the sources of their cognition likewise differ by the importance of Black to personal identity. Nearly half of Black adults for whom Black is very or extremely important (48%) say they learned about Black history from their families and friends, making them more probable to say so than Black adults for whom Black is less important (30%). Similarly, those who say being Blackness is important to their identity are more likely than those who did not say this to have learned about Blackness history from nearly every source they were asked about, be it media (33% vs. 22%), the cyberspace (30% vs. 18%) or college, if they attended (26% vs. 14%). The only source for which both groups were near equally likely to say they learned about Black history was their Chiliad-12 schools (24% and 21%, respectively).

Overall, amongst Black Americans who feel at least a little informed almost U.S. Black history, 43% say they learned about information technology from their relatives and friends, 30% say they learned most it from the media, 27% from the internet, and 24% from college (if they attended) and 23% from K-12 school.

Younger Black people are less likely to speak to relatives about ancestors

Black adults under 30 years old differ significantly from older Blackness adults in their views on the importance of Blackness to their personal identity. However, Black adults also differ by age in how they pursue knowledge of family history, how informed they feel about U.S. Blackness history, and their sense of connexion to other Black people.

Chart showing younger Black adults less likely than their elders to feel informed about U.S. Black history

Blackness adults nether 30 (50%) are less probable than those 65 and older (64%) to say their ancestors were enslaved. In fact, twoscore% of Blackness adults under thirty say that they are not certain whether their ancestors were enslaved. Black adults in the youngest historic period group (59%) are less likely than the oldest (87%) to have spoken to their relatives about family history or to accept used a mail-in Dna service to learn most their ancestors (11% vs. 21%). They are only slightly less likely to have conducted research on their families online (26% vs. 39%).

Black adults nether thirty have the lowest share who say they experience very or extremely informed nearly the history of Black people in the U.s.a. (twoscore%), compared with sixty% of Black adults 65 and older and about half each of Black adults 50 to 64 (53%) and 30 to 49 (51%). In fact, Blackness adults under 30 are more probable than those fifty and older to say they feel a little or non at all informed well-nigh Black history. While Black adults are generally most likely to cite family and friends as their source for learning virtually Blackness history, the share under 30 (38%) who as well cite the internet every bit a source of data is higher than the shares ages fifty to 64 (22%) and 65 and older (14%) who say this.

These age differences persist in the sense of connexion that Black Americans have with other Black people. Black adults under 30 are less likely than those 65 and older to say that everything or about things that happen to Black people in the U.s. volition touch their ain lives. This youngest grouping is also less likely than the oldest to have this sense of common fate with Black people in their local community. Ane exception to this design occurs when Black adults were asked how much they had in common with Black people who place equally LGBTQ. Blackness adults under 30 (21%) were considerably more likely than those 65 and older (x%) to say they have everything or most things in common with Black people who identify every bit LGBTQ.

Black Americans differ by party on measures of identity and connection

Black Democrats and Republicans differ on how important Blackness is to their personal identities. Still, at that place are as well partisan gaps when information technology comes to their connexion to other Blackness people.1

Bar chart showing Black Democrats more likely than Republicans to say what happens to other Black people in the U.S. will affect their own lives

Blackness Democrats and those who lean to the Democratic Party are more than probable than Black Republicans and Republican leaners to say that everything or most things that happen to Black people in the United States (57% vs. 39%) and their local communities (46% vs. 30%) affect what happens in their ain lives. However, Black Republicans (24%) are more likely than Black Democrats (14%) to say that they accept everything or most things in mutual with Blackness people who are LGBTQ. They are too more probable than Black Democrats to say they have everything or most things in common with Black people who are wealthy (25% vs. xi%).

When it comes to knowledge of family unit and racial histories, Blackness Democrats and Republicans practice not differ. Democrats (59%) are simply every bit likely as Republicans (54%) to know that their ancestors were enslaved. Well-nigh 80% of Black adults from both partisan coalitions say they take spoken to their relatives near their family history. Similar shares have likewise researched their family histories online and used mail-in Dna services.

Black Democrats are also not significantly more than probable than Blackness Republicans to say they feel very or extremely informed well-nigh U.Southward. Blackness history (53% vs. 45%). And among those who feel at to the lowest degree a little informed virtually U.South. Black history, Democrats and Republicans are about equally probable to say they learned it from family and friends (45% vs. 38%).

Place is a key office of Black Americans' personal identities

The majority of Black adults who live in the U.s. were born at that place, merely an increasing portion of the population is comprised of immigrants. Of those immigrants, virtually 90% were born in the Caribbean or Africa. Regardless of their region of nativity, 58% of Black adults say the land they were built-in in is very or extremely important to how they think near themselves. A smaller share say the aforementioned most the places where they grew upwards (46%).

Bar chart showing half of Black adults say where they currently live is an important part of their identity

Black adults also feel strongly about their current communities. Well-nigh one-half of Blackness adults (52%) say that where they currently live is very or extremely important to how they think about themselves. And when it comes to the quality of their neighborhoods, 76% of Black adults rate them as at least skillful places to live, including 41% who say the quality of their community is very skillful or splendid.

Nevertheless, Black adults say there are concerning issues in the communities they live in. When asked in an open up-concluded question to listing the issue that was well-nigh important in their neighborhoods, nearly 1-in-five Black adults listed problems related to violence or crime (17%). Smaller shares listed other points of concern such every bit economic issues similar poverty and homelessness (11%), housing (seven%), COVID-19 and public wellness (6%), or infrastructure issues such as the availability of public transportation and the conditions of roads (v%).

While near one-in-5 Blackness Americans (17%) say that individual people like themselves should be responsible for solving these bug, they are most probable to say that local customs leaders should accost these problems (48%). Smaller shares say the U.Southward. Congress (12%), the U.S. president (8%) or ceremonious rights organizations (two%) bear responsibility.