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Survey of black people finds many think politicians don’t care about them

Bill Theobald
By Bill TheobaldMay 30, 2019
Bill Theobald

Bill Theobald is senior writer at The Fulcrum, where he focuses on everything to do with voting. This December marks his 40th anniversary in the business, and he still believes -- now more than ever -- that the glow from great journalism can truly light the world.

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Many black Americans are highly engaged politically but a significant number believe politicians don't care about them, according to what is touted as the largest survey of black people since Reconstruction.

The Black Census Project report, released this week, is based on more than 33,000 responses nationwide.

The survey is not a traditional scientific poll, according to the Black Futures Lab, which authored the report. Instead it worked with two of the largest online civil rights groups as well as more than 30 grassroots organizations, sending local organizers into black businesses, churches and other institutions. Because of this, Black Census respondents are younger, more likely to be female and have a higher educational attainment than the overall black population.

Among the findings in the first report based on the survey:

  • A large percentage of black people are politically active. More than 73 percent reported voting in 2016 and 40 percent reported some additional electoral activity such as canvassing.
  • 52 percent said politicians do not care about black people.
  • Low wages is the most pressing economic problem facing blacks, with 90 percent viewing it as a problem.

The census found broad agreement on the solutions to the economic problems facing blacks, including: 85 percent support raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, 84 percent support making college affordable for anyone who wants to attend, and 90 percent support the government providing health care to everyone.

In addition, more than three-quarters of respondents favored raising taxes on people earning more than $250,000 while 60 percent opposed reducing corporate taxes.

Large proportions identified excessive use of force by police officers (83 percent) and police officers killing blacks (87 percent) as problems in the community.

The report concluded that those blacks engaged politically had similar views on problems and solutions than those who are not. The challenge is convincing those not involved of the "effectiveness of taking action."

In addition, the report notes that blacks are the base of the Democratic Party and that if blacks ceased voting and gave up on the system, "it would upend the Democratic Party and have devastating effects on our democracy as a whole."

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Your Take: The Price of Freedom

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Our question about the price of freedom received a light response. We asked:

What price have you, your friends or your family paid for the freedom we enjoy? And what price would you willingly pay?

It was a question born out of the horror of images from Ukraine. We hope that the news about the Jan. 6 commission and Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination was so riveting that this question was overlooked. We considered another possibility that the images were so traumatic, that our readers didn’t want to consider the question for themselves. We saw the price Ukrainians paid.

One response came from a veteran who noted that being willing to pay the ultimate price for one’s country and surviving was a gift that was repaid over and over throughout his life. “I know exactly what it is like to accept that you are a dead man,” he said. What most closely mirrored my own experience was a respondent who noted her lack of payment in blood, sweat or tears, yet chose to volunteer in helping others exercise their freedom.

Personally, my price includes service to our nation, too. The price I paid was the loss of my former life, which included a husband, a home and a seemingly secure job to enter the political fray with a message of partisan healing and hope for the future. This work isn’t risking my life, but it’s the price I’ve paid.

Given the earnest question we asked, and the meager responses, I am also left wondering if we think at all about the price of freedom? Or have we all become so entitled to our freedom that we fail to defend freedom for others? Or was the question poorly timed?

I read another respondent’s words as an indicator of his pacifism. And another veteran who simply stated his years of service. And that was it. Four responses to a question that lives in my heart every day. We look forward to hearing Your Take on other topics. Feel free to share questions to which you’d like to respond.

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