New poll shows economic recovery, white supremacy top concerns for Black voters

Economic recovery and white supremacy are the top issues Black voters want U.S. leaders to address, according to a series of bimonthly surveys from Black to the Future Action Fund and Socioanalitica Research released on Thursday.

More than 40 percent of those polled also expressed dissatisfaction with the country’s direction, despite both President Biden and Vice President Harris receiving a 71 percent average approval rating between July 2021 and May 2022 from respondents.

Much of the dissatisfaction has to do with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately affected the Black community. 

During the pandemic, Black people suffered more job losses than white people — in the survey, nearly a quarter of respondents reported they’d lost their job or had their hours cut. 

Meanwhile, Black-owned businesses faced more difficulties accessing Paycheck Protection Program loans. As a result, income and housing insecurity soared. 

A third of respondents said their personal finances worsened during the pandemic, and 45 percent said they’ve had difficulties paying for usual household expenses. 

Now, both renters and mortgage holders said they are behind on payments.

Voters identified two policy changes they want to see: $2,000 monthly relief checks until the economy recovers and increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. 

The call for a monthly stimulus check isn’t new — last year, Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) were among those who signed a letter to President Biden calling for $2,000 monthly checks until the pandemic is completely over.

With a $2,000 monthly stimulus check, 63 percent of survey respondents with a household income below $20,000 said they would use the money to pay for utilities. Sixty-two percent said they would use it for food.

Black voters also want to see the Biden/Harris administration take bold action against white supremacy, according to the survey. 

Hate crimes have been on the rise in recent years, and earlier this year a lone gunman targeting Black people killed 10 Black victims at a Buffalo supermarket.

Forty-three percent of voters said they want Biden to declare attacks such as these as domestic terrorism while another 33 percent said white supremacy needs to be declared a national security threat. 

Worries about white supremacy also impact how Black voters feel about gun control. 

A third of respondents said those who have committed hate crimes need to be barred from accessing firearms in the future. 

On Thursday, Black to the Future Action Fund and other Black leaders pointed out that Democrats can’t win without support from Black voters. If they plan to win, leaders added, candidates will need to push policies like these in key states like Georgia and North Carolina.