{"id":289371,"date":"2026-02-25T09:55:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=289371"},"modified":"2026-03-04T09:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:52:10","slug":"for-many-black-americans-family-extends-beyond-birth-and-legal-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/race-and-ethnicity\/2026\/02\/25\/for-many-black-americans-family-extends-beyond-birth-and-legal-ties\/","title":{"rendered":"For Many Black Americans, Family Extends Beyond Birth and Legal Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\"An<\/a>
Relatives meet at Conroe Community Cemetery in Conroe, Texas, where many of the town’s earliest Black residents are buried, in February 2025. (Yi-Chin Lee\/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
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About this research<\/summary>\n

This Pew Research Center analysis focuses on how Black Americans define and experience family \u2013 that is, who is included in their family networks and how they provide support to one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center conducts research to inform the public, the media and decision-makers. This analysis builds on previous work about the importance of identity<\/a> and family<\/a> among Black Americans. It also builds on the Center\u2019s work studying American families and relationships<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Pew Research Center<\/a>, our research on Black Americans<\/a> and our race and ethnicity<\/a><\/a><\/a> research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We surveyed 6,871 U.S. adults from June 16-29, 2025. Of the full sample, 3,657 respondents are members of Pew Research Center\u2019s American Trends Panel<\/a><\/a><\/a>, including 1,057 Black respondents. The remaining 3,214 respondents are Black adults who are members of SSRS\u2019s Opinion Panel. This brings the total Black sample in the survey to 4,271 Black adults. The survey is representative of the views of the full U.S. adult population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the survey questions<\/a> used for this report, the detailed responses<\/a> and the survey methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This report was made possible with support from the Trusts and from the\u00a0People & Voices Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Terminology<\/summary>\n

The terms Black Americans,<\/strong> Black adults<\/strong> and Black people<\/strong> are used interchangeably throughout this report to refer to U.S. adults who self-identify as Black, either alone or in combination with other races or Hispanic identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The terms being Black<\/strong> and Blackness <\/strong>are used interchangeably throughout the report to describe respondents\u2019 answers to a question about Black racial identity: \u201cHow important is being Black to how you think about yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black single-race, non-Hispanic<\/strong> respondents are those who identify as single-race Black and are not Hispanic. Black Hispanic<\/strong> respondents are those who identify as Black and Hispanic. Black<\/strong> multiracial<\/strong> respondents are those who indicate two or more racial backgrounds (one of which is Black) and say they are not Hispanic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This analysis includes comparisons between Black Americans and other Americans. In these cases, other Americans,<\/strong> other adults <\/strong>and non-Black adults<\/strong> are used interchangeably to refer to U.S. adults who do not self-identify as Black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family<\/strong> refers to a group of people who are related to each other by birth, marriage, law or choice. In this analysis, family includes nuclear family members,<\/strong> such as spouses or partners, parents, and siblings; extended family members<\/strong> such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins; and non-relative family members<\/strong><\/a> such as longtime friends and people who have bonded over shared identities and experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immigrants<\/strong> refers to people born outside the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories. U.S. born<\/strong> refers to people born in the 50 U.S. states, D.C., Puerto Rico or other U.S. territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References to college graduates <\/strong>or people with a college degree<\/strong> comprise those with a bachelor\u2019s degree or more education. People with some college<\/strong> education<\/strong> are those with an associate degree or those who attended college but did not obtain a degree. People with a high school education or less<\/strong> refers to those who have a high school diploma or its equivalent, such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, or less education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create the upper, middle and lower income tiers, respondents\u2019 2023 or 2024 family incomes were adjusted for differences in purchasing power by geographic region and household size. Respondents were then placed into income tiers: Middle income<\/strong> is defined as two-thirds to double the median annual income for the entire survey sample. Lower income<\/strong> falls below that range, and upper income<\/strong> lies above it. For more information about how the income tiers were created, read the methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats<\/strong> are respondents who identify politically with the Democratic Party or those who are independent or identify with some other party but lean toward the Democratic Party. Similarly, Republicans<\/strong> are those who identify politically with the Republican Party and those who are independent or identify with some other party but lean toward the Republican Party.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Many Black Americans have broad family networks that are important sources of support. These networks reflect long traditions of connection<\/a> that often go beyond households and biological relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To understand how Black Americans think about and support their families, Pew Research Center surveyed 4,271 Black adults and 2,555 adults of other races and ethnicities in June 2025. We asked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n