{"id":289387,"date":"2026-02-25T09:55:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=289387"},"modified":"2026-03-04T09:54:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T14:54:32","slug":"black-americans-sense-of-family-extends-beyond-friends-and-relatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/race-and-ethnicity\/2026\/02\/25\/black-americans-sense-of-family-extends-beyond-friends-and-relatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Americans\u2019 sense of family extends beyond friends and relatives\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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

This is one of five detailed sections in a report on how Black Americans define and support their family networks. The report also includes an <\/em>overview<\/em><\/a> of key findings.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Black Americans have deep connections to family<\/a>, including people researchers usually refer to as extended family<\/a>, such as cousins and grandparents. And most Black adults say they have a non-relative whom they consider part of their family<\/a>. 

But how do Black adults feel about Black Americans who are beyond their personal network? To understand these views, Pew Research Center conducted a survey including 4,271 Black Americans in June 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A majority of Black adults say they generally consider other Black people in the U.S. to be their brothers or sisters, and most feel a larger sense of responsibility for other Black Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, the survey finds that Black Americans\u2019 views of their own racial identity is central to how they feel about other Black people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These findings build on Pew Research Center\u2019s past research on Black identity<\/a> and the connections Black people feel to one another<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Most Black people say being Black is important to their sense of self<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

According to our June 2025 survey, 75% of Black adults say that being Black is extremely or very important to how they think about themselves. Another 25% say being Black is somewhat important, a little important or not at all important to their sense of self. Regardless of where they were born, education level, economic status or political affiliation, majorities of Black Americans say being Black is an important part of their identity. This is unchanged from when we asked this question in 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A majority of Black Americans see other Black people as their brothers or sisters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

About six-in-ten Black adults (58%) say they generally view other Black people in the U.S. as their brothers or sisters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sense of overarching racial connection is closely tied to another question we asked in the survey, about how important Blackness is to respondents\u2019 personal identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among Black adults who say being Black is extremely or very important to them personally, 65% consider other Black people in the U.S. their brothers or sisters. Among respondents who see their Blackness as less important to their identity, 38% say the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are modest differences by age, gender and other demographic traits. Still, in each group we analyzed, half of respondents or more say they consider other Black people to be their brothers or sisters. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n