Young Black Americans, particularly those under age 30, are less convinced that the laws, policies and practices that govern everyday life in the U.S. work as promised. Unconvinced that the American Dream — study hard, work hard, get ahead — is still alive, they are more insistent on confronting history and slightly more guarded toward institutions and questions of belonging.
Yet like their elders, young Black people temper that cynicism with pride in their country, a firm belief in the right to vote and an insistence on using that power to bring about equality and revive the American Dream.
That is the takeaway from the National Collaborative for Health Equity’s 4th Annual Heart of America Survey. The online survey of 1,322 Americans, including 172 Black people, revealed a complex emotional landscape: pride intertwined with worry; faith tempered by doubt.
More than 8 in 10 respondents said America is more divided now than ever before. Still, even with fresh, Trump-era evidence of racial bias and hard-won equity gains slipping away, 71% of Americans surveyed are hopeful Americans can bridge their differences.
Among young Black people ages 18 to 29, the poll found a generation that sees deeper structural problems, demands an honest reckoning with the past and holds America to a higher standard than their elders.
While Black Americans see disunity and divisiveness as part of America’s culture (82%), only around 4 in 10 said they are personally worried about the discord, while nearly 70% aren’t worried about it at all.
About half of respondents said they feel proud to be American, with 26% calling themselves “extremely proud” and another 26% rating their pride highly. Around 29% landed in the middle, and 19% said they do not feel proud to be an American.
The poll found that experiences with racism were widespread, with 48% of Black respondents reporting personally experiencing racism and 19% saying they encounter it “often.”
Younger respondents ages 18 to 29 are roughly two to three times more likely to say they have faced racism than those over 75.
Among all respondents ages 18 to 29, only 45% believed the American Dream was still achievable. For many young Blacks, the country is not living up to the promise that hard work guarantees a better life.
The clearest generational split concerns the perceived roots of inequality in America.
A commanding 63% of Black adults ages 18 to 29 believe inequality is systemic in America, a bias percolating in the country’s institutions and systems rather than resulting from individual choices. Among Blacks ages 50 to 64, that view drops to just 23%.
Young Black adults strongly want schools to teach the full history of America, including slavery and racism. Three-quarters call this “very important,” compared with 56% of those ages 50 to 64.
When asked whether America lives up to its ideals of freedom, fairness and equal opportunity, young Black adults are markedly more skeptical. Only 26% of 18- to 29-year-olds say the country delivers “a great deal” or “quite a bit.” Among 50- to 64-year-olds, that number more than doubles to 54%. This gap may reflect a demand for accountability rather than a lack of patriotism.
Further, young Blacks question the federal government’s intent to protect voting rights. Just 66% of 18- to 29-year-olds see the federal government’s role as important, compared to 82% of those ages 65 and older.
Among all Americans, 52% now believe the dream has slipped out of reach for most people; that figure increases to 55% of Black people. Meanwhile, just 45% of Black respondents said the American Dream is achievable.
Gail C. Christopher is executive director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity and vice president of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.