#NNPA BlackPress

Study: Race Is Central to Identity for Black Americans and Affects How They Connect

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The Pew Research Center conducted an analysis online between Oct. 4, 2021, and Oct. 17, 2021, surveying 3,912 Black U.S. adults and explored differences among Black Americans in views of identity such as between U.S.-born Black people and Black immigrants; Black people living in different regions of the country; and between Black people of different ethnicities, political party affiliations, ages, and income levels.
The post Study: Race Is Central to Identity for Black Americans and Affects How They Connect first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 years ago

April 25, 2022

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

No matter where they are from, who they are, their economic circumstances or educational backgrounds, significant majorities of Black Americans say being Black is extremely or very important to how they think about themselves.

A new Pew Research poll revealed that a significant share of Black Americans also says that when something happens to Black people in their local communities, across the nation or around the globe, it affects what happens in their own lives, highlighting a sense of connectedness.

“Black Americans say this even as they have diverse experiences and come from an array of backgrounds,” the authors of the poll noted.

“Even so, Black adults who say being Black is important to their sense of self are more likely than other Black adults to feel connected to other groups of Black people,” the authors discovered.

“They are also more likely to feel that what happens to Black people inside and outside the United States affects what happens in their own lives.”

The Pew Research Center conducted an analysis online between Oct. 4, 2021, and Oct. 17, 2021.

The organization surveyed 3,912 Black U.S. adults and explored differences among Black Americans in views of identity such as between U.S.-born Black people and Black immigrants; Black people living in different regions of the country; and between Black people of different ethnicities, political party affiliations, ages, and income levels.

Most non-Hispanic Black Americans (78 percent) reported that being Black is very or extremely important to how they think about themselves.

This racial group counted as the largest among Black adults, accounting for 87 percent of the adult population, according to 2019 Census Bureau estimates.

But among other Black Americans, roughly six-in-ten multiracial (57 percent) and Hispanic (58 percent) Black adults reported the same.

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the nation’s Black population stands at 47 million, or 14 percent of the country’s population.

The survey authors reported that while the vast majority of Black Americans said their racial background is Black alone (88 percent in 2020), growing numbers are also multiracial or Hispanic.

Most were born in the U.S. and trace their roots back several generations in the country, but a growing share are immigrants (12 percent) or the U.S.-born children of immigrant parents (9 percent).

Geographically, while 56 percent of Black Americans live in the nation’s South, the national Black population has also dispersed widely across the country, researchers reported.

The report noted that Black Americans also differ in significant ways in their views about the importance of being Black to personal identity.

While majorities of all age groups of Black people say being Black shapes how they think about themselves, younger Black Americans are less likely to respond the same.

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 important to how they think of themselves.

Specifically, 76 percent of Black adults ages 30 to 49, 80 percent of those 50 to 64 and 83 percent of those 65 and older hold this view, while only 63 percent of those under 30 reported that belief.

Black adults who identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party are more likely than those who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party to say being Black is important to how they see themselves – 86 percent vs. 58 percent.

And Black women (80 percent) are more likely than Black men (72 percent) to say being Black is important to how they see themselves.

The report found that some subgroups of Black Americans are about as likely as others to say that being Black is very or extremely important to how they think about themselves.

According to the survey, U.S.-born and immigrant Black adults are about as likely to say being Black is important to how they see their identity.

However, not all Black Americans feel the same about the importance of being Black to their identity – 14 percent say it is only somewhat important to how they see themselves while 9 percent say it has little or no impact on their personal identity, reflecting the diversity of views about identity among Black Americans.

Among the main highlights from the report include:

About half of Black adults say their fates are strongly linked with other Black people in the U.S.
Most Black adults say being Black is very important to how they see themselves
Black Americans who say being Black is important to them are more likely to feel connected to other Black people.
Black adults who say being Black is important to them are more likely to learn about their ancestors from relatives.
Black adults under 30 years old differ significantly from older Black 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. Black history, and their sense of connectedness to other Black people.
Black Democrats more likely than Republicans to say what happens to other Black people in the U.S. will affect their own lives.
Half of Black adults say where they currently live is an important part of their identity.
Majorities of Black adults say their gender and sexuality are very important to them.
Black women are more likely than Black men to say their gender is very important to them.

Click here to view the full report.

The post Study: Race Is Central to Identity for Black Americans and Affects How They Connect first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Stacy M. Brown

Posts by Stacy M. Brown

Up Next

Megan Thee Stallion Opens up About Tory Lanez and 2020 Shooting

Don't Miss

Neighborhoods of Color are Breathing Unhealthier Air Than in the Previous Two Decades Combined

Stacy M. Brown

Click to comment

#NNPA BlackPress

LIVE from the NMA Convention Raheem DeVaughn Says The Time Is Now: Let’s End HIV in Our Communities #2

Set against the backdrop of the NMA conference, Executive Officers from the National Medical Association, Grammy Award Winning Artist and Advocate Raheem DeVaughn, and Gilead Sciences experts, are holding today an important conversation on HIV prevention and health equity. Black women continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV despite advances in prevention options. Today’s event […]

Published

1 week ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Black women continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV despite advances in prevention options. Today’s event is designed to uplift voices, explore barriers to access, and increase awareness and key updates about PrEP, a proven prevention method that remains underutilized among Black women. This timely gathering will feature voices from across health, media, and advocacy as we break stigma and center equity in HIV prevention.

Additional stats and information to know:

● Black women continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV, with Black women representing more than 50% of new HIV diagnoses among women in the U.S. in 2022, despite comprising just 13% of women in the U.S.

● Women made up only 8% of PrEP users despite representing 19% of all new HIV diagnoses in 2022.

● Gilead Sciences is increasing awareness and addressing stigma by encouraging regular HIV testing and having judgment-free conversations with your healthcare provider about prevention options, including oral PrEP and long-acting injectable PrEP options.

● PrEP is an HIV prevention medication that has been available since 2012.

● Only 1 in 3 people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP were prescribed a form of PrEP in 2022.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

TRUMP: “Washington, D.C. is Safe”

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — President Trump, who typically travels with a full contingent of high-level protection, insinuated that he finally felt safe enough to go to dinner in the District of Columbia. “My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years,” said the nation’s 47th president.

Published

1 week ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By Apriil Ryan
BlackPressUSA Washington Bureau Chief and White House Correspondent

“Washington, D.C. is safe,” President Trump declared from the Oval Office today. Those words came while Trump was hosting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the question-and-answer session, which primarily focused on a peace deal in the Russian-Ukrainian war, Trump explained, “You did that in four days.” He was speaking of how fast the National Guard quelled the violence in what was once called Chocolate City.

The President deployed the National Guard to D.C. a week ago, to a city with reduced crime rates over the previous year. Violent crime dropped by 26%, marking the lowest level in 30 years. Homicides also fell by 11%.

President Trump, who typically travels with a full contingent of high-level protection, insinuated that he finally felt safe enough to go to dinner in the District of Columbia. “My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years,” said the nation’s 47th president.

Trump reinforced his claim about the newly acquired safety in D.C. by relaying that a friend’s son is attending dinner in D.C., something he would not have done last year.

After the president finished his comments, a reporter/commentator in the room with close connections to Marjorie Taylor Greene jumped into the high-level conversation to affirm the president’s comments, saying, “I walked around yesterday with MTG. If you can walk around D.C. with MTG and not be attacked, this city is safe.”

That reporter was the same person who chastised President Zelenskyy months ago during his first Oval Office meeting with Trump for not wearing a business suit. Zelenskyy, a wartime President, has been clad in less formal attire to reflect the country’s current war stance against Russia.

Without any sourcing, President Trump also said, “People that haven’t gone out to dinner in Washington, D.C., in two years are going out to dinner, and the restaurants the last two days have been busier than they’ve been in a long time.”

The increase in policing in Washington, D.C. is because a 19-year-old former Doge employee was carjacked in the early hours of the morning recently.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

Rising Energy Costs Weigh Heaviest on Black Households

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — For many African American families, the cost of keeping the lights on and homes heated or cooled is not just a monthly bill — it’s a crushing financial burden.

Published

1 week ago

February 3, 2026

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

For many African American families, the cost of keeping the lights on and homes heated or cooled is not just a monthly bill — it’s a crushing financial burden.

A new national study from Binghamton University and California State University, San Bernardino, finds that Black households spend a far larger share of their income on energy compared to white households, even when income levels are the same. “We often say that African Americans suffer more, but we often blame it just on income. And the reality is, there is something more there,” study author George Homsy, associate professor at Binghamton University, wrote. “It’s not just because they tend to be poor. There is something that’s putting them at a disadvantage. I think what happened is it happens to be where they live.” The study, published in Energy Research & Social Science, analyzed 65,000 census tracts across the United States. It found that while the average American household spends about 3.2% of income on energy bills, households in the majority African American census tracts spend an average of 5.1%.

Homsy and researcher Ki Eun Kang point to the age and condition of housing stock, along with lower homeownership rates, as key drivers. Their research concludes that “energy burden is not simply a matter of income or energy cost but also race, which might be driven by place.” Older, less energy-efficient housing and high rental rates in Black communities mean residents often cannot make upgrades like improved insulation or new appliances, locking families into higher bills.

Tradeoffs and Health Risks

The consequences go beyond money. Families forced to spend 10% or more of their income on energy — what experts classify as “unmanageable” — may cut back on food, medicine, or other essentials. More than 12 million U.S. households report leaving their homes at unsafe temperatures to reduce costs, while millions more fall behind on utility bills. The health effects are severe. High energy burdens increase risks of asthma, depression, poor sleep, pneumonia, and even premature death. The issue is especially acute for African Americans, who are disproportionately exposed to housing and environmental conditions that amplify these risks.

Washington, D.C.: A Case Study

In Washington, D.C., the problem is particularly stark. A recent analysis by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) shows that SNAP-eligible households spend more than 20% of their income on energy bills. Across the metro area, nearly two-thirds of low-income households devote over 6% of their income to energy, and 40% face what researchers call a “severe financial strain,” paying more than 10%. Pepco, the District’s primary electricity provider, has implemented three consecutive annual rate hikes, pushing the average household bill to $114 per month as of January 2025. Shutoffs have followed — nearly 12,000 customers lost service in 2024, with disconnections doubling after a summer rate hike. Washington Gas has also sought a 12% rate increase and pushed a controversial $215 million pipeline replacement project, rebranded as “District SAFE.” The plan could ultimately cost D.C. households an additional $45,000 each over several decades, or nearly $1,000 annually added to bills.

Historical Roots

Researchers argue that these inequities are not accidental but rooted in history. The ScienceDirect study reveals that African American communities living in formerly redlined neighborhoods continue to face disadvantages today — from poor housing quality to higher climate risks. Homsy says policymakers must make targeted efforts. “It is harder to get to rental units where a lot of poor people live,” he noted. “We need to work harder to get into these communities of color.”