When Democrat Joe Biden ran for president in 2020, his campaign was falling apart.
A meeting and interview with a group of National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) publishers, led by President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., and an endorsement from South Carolina Democratic Rep. James Clyburn gave Biden’s campaign the boost it needed, carrying him all the way to the White House.
During his first two years in office, President Biden has routinely reminded everyone about the importance of the Black vote.
Recent reports revealed that a group of Black elected officials were worried that Black people would not vote at all in the 2020 election.
They are also worried about the 2024 presidential election.
While Black voters did not go for Republicans in large numbers, in many places, they did not show up to vote as often as they used to, CNN reported.
When compared to other voter groups in the 2022 midterms, they did not perform well.
Top Democratic operatives and Black leaders reportedly have said they worry that if former President Donald Trump and extremist candidates aren’t on the 2024 ballot, driving suburban and independent voters to vote for Democrats again, they worry “they will need big changes, and quickly, to get more Black voters showing up to win in swing states and tough districts.”
Voting vs. Protesting
Meanwhile, most Black adults told researchers that they see voting as an extremely or very effective strategy for helping Black people move toward equality, but fewer than half say the same about protesting.
According to a new Pew Research poll, more than six in ten Black adults (63%) say voting is an extremely effective strategy for Black progress.
However, only around four in ten (42%) say the same about protesting.
The research found notable differences in these views across political and demographic subgroups of the Black population.
According to researchers, Black Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more likely than Black Republicans and Republican leaners to say voting is an extremely or very effective tactic for Black progress (68% vs. 46%).
Black Democrats are also more likely to say the same about supporting Black businesses (63% vs. 41%) and protesting (46% vs. 32%).
Researchers said views also differ by age.
For example, around half of Black adults ages 65 and older (48%) say protests are an extremely or very effective tactic, compared with 42% of those ages 50 to 64 and 38% of those 30 to 49.
Why the Research and What it Shows
Painting a backdrop for its research, Pew officials noted that Black Americans’ resistance to racial inequality has deep roots in U.S. history and has taken many forms – from slave rebellions during the colonial era and through the Civil War to protest movements in the 1950s, 1960s, and today.
They also said that Black Americans had built institutions like churches, colleges and universities, printing presses, and fraternal organizations to help their communities.
Pew researchers said that “these movements and institutions had stressed freedom, self-determination and equal protection under the law.”
Additionally, research found that those with a high school education or less are more likely than college graduates to say that establishing a national Black political party would effectively achieve equality for Black people.
Young Black adults (ages 18 to 49) are more likely than older Black adults (ages 50 and up) to believe that Black officials governing Black neighborhoods would aid in advancing equality.
Allies from Other Racial Groups
Further, clear majorities of Black adults told researchers that people of other races or ethnicities could make good political allies for Black people.
About four-in-ten Black adults (42%) said white people would make good political allies only if they experienced the same hardships as Black people. Another 35% said white people would make good political allies even if they don’t experience these same hardships. Approximately one-in-five Black adults (18%) said white people would not make good political allies.
Four-in-ten Black adults (37%) say Latinos would make good allies only if they experienced the same hardships as Black people. In comparison, a similar share (40%) say Latino people would make for good allies even if they don’t experience the same hardships. Some 16% of Black adults say Latinos would not make good political allies.
The views of Black adults on this question are similar to those stated about Asians, though a somewhat higher share (23%) say Asian Americans would not make good political allies.
Around four in ten Black adults believe that Black Lives Matter have done the most to help Black people in recent years.
That opinion proved more than the share who said the NAACP (17%), the Congressional Black Caucus (6%), or the National Urban League (3%).
Black Democrats are more likely than Black Republicans (44% vs. 26%) to say Black Lives Matter has done the most to help Black people in recent years.
And Black adults with at least a college degree are more likely than those with less education (44% vs. 37%) to say Black Lives Matter has done the most.
“Black Americans have long articulated a clear vision for the kind of social change that would improve their lives,” researchers wrote.