African American Research Collaborative

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Here you will find a list of articles featuring our analysis and commentary.

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September 21, 2022

Colorado Times Reporter: ACLU Poll Illuminates CO Voters’ Stance on Prison System

A recent poll conducted by the ACLU reveals that a majority of Coloradans from diverse backgrounds support the reduction of the prison population. Last week’s voter poll briefing by the ACLU was issued to 1,223 likely voters throughout the state of Colorado. Implemented by the African American Research Collaborative (AARC), the poll specifically centered young Black and Latinx voters across the state.

September 13, 2022

Rocky Mountain PBS: COVID-19 is no longer the top concern for voters, but the impacts of the pandemic are

In the last two years, COVID-19 has dropped from a top concern for Colorado voters to low on the list. Now at the top of that list ahead of the November election are issues like affordable housing and civil rights issues.

The ACLU of Colorado commissioned a poll of 1,223 likely voters in Colorado last month through the African American Research Collaborative. Ninety-five percent of the poll’s respondents were already registered voters in the state.

The poll found 80% of Coloradans consider housing affordability as either a major issue or a crisis. Also among top concerns were the economy and homelessness.

“There is a flavor of concern of the inflation and economy that is directly tied to civil rights,” said Isaiah Bailey, a research fellow with the AARC. He said it was encouraging that voters are understanding the connection of those ideas.

September 13, 2022

Denver Post: ACLU poll of voters shows young Coloradans more likely to vote on affordable housing, civil rights issues

Coloradans trust their state government more than the federal government and civil rights issues that are “ripping at the fabric” of other states seem to have more of a consensus in Colorado, according to polling from the African American Research Collaborative. Survey respondents scored the affordable housing ballot initiative as a 7.43 (mean score out of 10), which reflects the level of support the ACLU saw for the measure at 77%. They scored seeing it as a reason to vote at 7.48.

2022

August 31, 2021

Electronic Urban Report: FDA Approval Of Pfizer Shots Opens Door To More COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

“Among unvaccinated adults, 31 percent surveyed in May said they would be more likely to get a coronavirus vaccine following full FDA approval, a <a ” href=”https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-june-2021/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Kaiser Family Foundation survey found. Other studies found similar results, according to Gabriel Sanchez, a political science professor and founder of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Endowed Chair in Health Policy at the University of New Mexico.

 

He cites the American COVID-19 Vaccine Poll from the African American Research Collaborative, which “found that 28 percent of unvaccinated Americans noted that they were concerned that the Biden administration was pushing the vaccines too quickly without proof that they are safe.”

 

August 25, 2021

Medpage Today: ‘Pandemic of the Unvaccinated?’ Not Really, Advocate Says

“Also during [a virtual event sponsored by the Alliance for Health Policy], Henry Fernandez, CEO of the African American Research Collaborative, which recently polled more than 12,000 people regarding their attitudes on vaccination, was asked whether he thought that the FDA’s granting of full approval to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was likely to result in more people being vaccinated.

 

Fernandez said he didn’t see that approval per se would convince people, but that the employer and government mandates that are likely to follow full approval would have an impact.”

 

August 24, 2021

Florida Courier: Consumer Fraud in America: The Black Experience

“AARP commissioned Precision Market Research, Latino Decisions, and the African American Research Collaborative to conduct the study, where 2,808 American adults participated. The study focused on Black and Latino adults.

 

The researchers concluded that education is critical in helping consumers spot and avoid scams. However, the survey indicated that Educational efforts about scams and fraud might underserve Black adults compared with white and other racial groups.

 

July 29, 2021

Health Affairs: Native Americans And COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Pathways Toward Increasing Vaccination Rates For Native Communities

“The American COVID-19 Vaccine Poll, a new national survey focused on overcoming obstacles to full and equitable vaccination coverage, has a large oversample of Native Americans (n = 1,920) and provides needed data to inform the next phase of vaccination outreach for Native communities across the country…

 

Native Americans are often left out of national surveys like this one, either altogether invisible or delegated to an “other” category. The inclusion of a large Native American population in this study is therefore quite notable, as it provides insight into what is needed to overcome vaccine hesitancy among Native Americans across the US.”

 

July 13, 2021

Bloomberg Law: Family, Doctors Play Vital Role in Curbing Vaccine Hesitancy

“More than half of unvaccinated Americans said if they had an option, they would prefer to get a Covid-19 shot from their local doctor’s office, according to a poll released in June by the African American Research Collaborative and the Commonwealth Fund.”

 

June 27, 2021

Politico: Rush to close vaccination gap for Hispanics

“One-third of unvaccinated Hispanics said they believed receiving a Covid vaccine could complicate immigration status for themselves or their family, despite the Biden administration’s assurances that it would not, according to a national survey from the African American Research Collaborative and the Commonwealth Fund this month.”

 

June 24, 2021

USA Today: An ex-officer’s vaccine fear may have killed him. His widow speaks out to save others, his legacy

“But the pandemic has disproportionately affected Black, Latino and Native Americans. There’s a direct correlation between the rates of COVID-19 hospitalization and deaths among racial and ethnic groups. A poll of more than 12,000 Americans ages 18 and up on the vaccine released last week by the Commonwealth Fund and the African American Research Collaborative found that unvaccinated people of color are more hesitant about getting the coronavirus vaccine than their white counterparts.”

 

June 22, 2021

The University of New Mexico Newsroom: UNM Center helps craft national survey on COVID-19 Vaccine hesitancy

“The massive American COVID-19 Vaccine Poll is a partnership between the African American Research Collaborative (AARC), The Commonwealth Fund, The National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), and other national organizations. The survey also found that 15 percent of New Mexicans who had their first shot do not plan to get their second dose. Many of those respondents said they think one shot is enough for them to feel protected.”

 

June 21, 2021

Dayton Daily News: Distrust of government, doctors playing a role

“According to a study released this week by the African American Research Collaborative, almost one-third of unvaccinated Black Americans who expressed some hesitancy to get the vaccine say the discrimination their communities have faced within the health care system makes it hard to trust that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.

 

Top reasons for hesitancy among unvaccinated Black and non-Black respondents included believing that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is dangerous and can cause blood clots and that the vaccine can give you COVID and make you sick.”

 

June 21, 2021

The Washington Post: Youngest adults are least likely to be vaccinated, and their interest in shots is declining, CDC finds

“The Commonwealth Fund partnered with the African American Research Collaborative to conduct a 12,000-person survey to better understand why people from the Black, Latino, Native American, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities might be reluctant to get the coronavirus vaccine and to ask about access issues and incentives that would encourage people to get a shot.

 

More than 40 percent of Native Americans, African Americans and Latinos who said they were hesitant about the vaccine also experienced discrimination by the health system, including denial of specialist referrals, the opportunity to speak with a physician or care in their preferred language.”

 

June 20, 2021

Channel 3000: As Wisconsin nears the 50% mark, Black people remain half as likely to get vaccinated as White people

“In the largest study of its kind released this week, the African American Research Collaborative surveyed more than 15,000 Black, Latino, and Native American people and found more than 40% are still hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

 

More than 70% said it’s because they have trouble finding transportation or getting time off work. Nearly one-third said it’s their history with discrimination that’s made it hard to trust that vaccines are safe and effective.”

 

June 18, 2021

WebMD: Doctors Office Favored COVID Vaccine Site for Unvaccinated

“The nationwide poll of more than 12,000 people was conducted jointly by the African American Research Collaborative and the Commonwealth Fund. Racial disparities were evident in the breakdown of the unvaccinated. In total, 42% of the respondents had not been vaccinated; in contrast, 46% of Blacks, 47% of Latinos, and 44% of Native Americans were unvaccinated. Meanwhile, just 40% of whites and 31% of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) were in that category. Yet it was White Americans, more than any of the other racial group, who bought into the rampant misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.”

 

June 17, 2021

New York Amsterdam News: Candidates try to get Black vote through activism

“According to the African American Research Collaborative, discrimination and racial injustice was the second most important issue for Black voters during the 2020 presidential election. Over 75% of respondents think racism and discrimination against Blacks increased over the last four years. An American University survey labeled young Black Americans as “key 2020 swing voters.”

 

June 16, 2021

Bloomberg Law: Half of Unvaccinated People Would Get the Jab From Their Doctor

“The nationwide poll, by the African American Research Collaborative and the Commonwealth Fund, highlights how vaccine hesitancy is still a critical issue, especially among communities of color. Nearly one-third of unvaccinated Black Americans and one-fifth of unvaccinated Native Americans who expressed some sense of vaccine hesitancy say the discrimination their communities have faced within the health-care system makes it hard to trust that the Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective, the study found.”

 

April 15, 2021

Amsterdam News: Policing and the Black vote

“A survey conducted by the African American Research Collaborative, the NAACP and the Vera Institute of Justice last November shows that discrimination and racial justice were the second most important issues to Black voters after the COVID-19 pandemic.”

 

Feb. 1, 2021

USA Today: Activists chart course for Black America’s progress after a year of turmoil

“Henry Fernandez, a national pollster with the African American Research Collaborative, sampled thousands of voters in recent months to learn their priorities and concerns. Though “COVID dominates,” discrimination and racial justice are No. 2 among Black respondents,” he said. Next are jobs and the economy, followed by police reform.”

 

Feb. 8, 2021

USA Today: The complex history of Alexander Twilight, nation’s first African American to earn a bachelor’s degree

“The American Election Eve Poll, conducted by a coalition of specialized political research groups, found that approximately 84 percent of Black voters supported Biden and about 12 percent supported Trump in Nevada, where Biden won by nearly 34,000 votes… The Election Eve poll, conducted through a partnership of the specialized political research groups African American Research Collaborative, Latino Decisions and Asian American Decisions, is based on more than 15,000 nationwide telephone interviews and self-completed online surveys from voters, including 400 Black Nevadans, from mid-October to Nov. 2.”

2021

November 25, 2020

NBC News: From Covid-19 to racial justice, how 2020’s biggest issues influenced the Black vote

“Fernandez, a lawyer and expert with the African American Research Collaborative, or AARC, has queried people across the country about their candidate choices, motivations and policy priorities.

 

So he wasn’t surprised that Black Americans voted “overwhelmingly” for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, while “white people turned out in a big way for President Donald Trump.” The Biden-Harris victory, he asserts, is a “sea change in American politics.”

 

“This election shows the country is no longer dominated politically by white voters,” Fernandez said. “A coalition led by people of color is now the dominant political reality in the United States.”

 

November 19, 2020

The Nevada Independent: Black voters in Nevada choose Biden by wide margin, but support for Trump seemingly on the rise

 

October 27, 2020

21WFMJ: Black voters energized to cast ballots in the Buckeye State

“So, it is certainly true that the majority of African American voters in Ohio, and across the country, are going to vote for the Democratic ticket,” said Henry Fernandez, CEO and principal of the African American Research Collaborative.

 

October 26, 2020

NBC News: ‘A stronghold of the Democratic Party’: How older Black voters could propel Biden to victory

An African American Research Collaborative poll this summer found that in response to the statement “I do not always like Trump’s policies, but I like the way he shows strength and defies the establishment,” 35 percent of 18- to 29-year-old Black voters reported agreement, while only 10 percent of Black voters ages 60 and older did so.

 

October 26, 2020

Newsweek: LeBron James Urges African Americans to Vote as Trump Gains Ground With Black Voters

​In July, an African American Research Collaborative Poll found 35 percent of Black Americans aged between 18 and 29 appreciated Trump’s strong personality, while not always agreeing with the president’s policies.

 

August 18, 2020

The Hill: Biden gets boost from Latino, Black voters after Harris pick: polls

Her Senate record and combative positions against Trump administration officials help explain Harris’s strong level of support among Black voters, according to Henry Fernández, author of the AARC polling memo.

 

August 13, 2020

Chicago Tribune: Clarence Page column – With Kamala Harris in the race, is Donald Trump bringing birtherism back?

A July poll from the African American Research Collaborative similarly found that strong majorities of Black voters would be more likely to encourage friends and family to vote for Biden if he picked a Black or African American woman.

 

July 21, 2020

Op Ed by Jones & Fernandez — Morning Consult: Black People Think Trump’s Immigration Policies Are Wrong and Will Vote Accordingly

Children in cages, children held by our government without access to soap, baths or toothbrushes, children caked in filth and excrement — and administration lawyers defending it all. These are not mistakes, but official policy as offered by President Donald Trump. Bizarrely it is also part of Trump’s political strategy, not just to engage his most steadfast supporters, but apparently to reach out to African American and Latino voters.

 

May 27, 2020

NBC News: Pattern of uneven social distancing enforcement coming into view, civil rights experts say

“This particular segment of the black population is interpreting the way that they believe they will be perceived if they wear a mask,” said Henry Fernandez, a principal at the African American Research Collective. “How rules are enforced is shaping what should be health-maintaining habits in communities of color.”

 

May 18, 2020

The Hill: Poll: 80 percent of African Americans say Trump has done ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ job handling coronavirus

The poll from the African American Research Collaborative (AARC) commissioned by the NAACP found that 80 percent of surveyed black Americans held a “fair” or “poor” view of the way Trump has responded to the coronavirus outbreak, while 19 percent had a positive view.

 

May 18, 2020

Politico: The lasting damage to black and Latino communities

The administration’s response has led to increased lack of trust among African Americans: On a scale of zero to 10, Trump ranked at the bottom of trusted messengers, below Surgeon General Jerome Adams, Anthony Fauci, and ordinary doctors and nurses, according to a poll of African Americans released today by the African American Research Collaborative.

2020

February 14, 2019

Houston Chronicle: In the battle for the minority vote, Julián Castro woos black voters

When Julián Castro declared his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination last month, he spoke of the Black Lives Matter movement and recalled Michael Brown of Ferguson, Mo. and other African Americans who died in confrontations with police.

2019

December 03, 2018

Pittsburgh Current: Setting the Table

Long story short, because of Trump, the table may now be set for the first black woman to be President.

 

November 19, 2018

NewsOne: New Report – Black Voters Once Again Saved The Country In The Midterm Elections

Across competitive elections, 90 percent of Black voters supported Democratic House candidates, compared to 53 percent of voters overall. It also found 91 percent of Black women, 86 percent of Black men and 50 percent of white voters believe Trump and the GOP are using toxic rhetoric to divide the nation.

 

November 18, 2018

US News and World Report: Trump Drove Black Voters to the Polls – to Choose Democrats

HE’S NO BARACK OBAMA. But President Donald Trump is having his own motivating effect on African-American voters, who overwhelmingly cast votes for Democrats in this month’s midterms – in large part because of the damage Trump has done to the GOP brand, according to pollsters who surveyed African-Americans immediately before the elections.

 

November 18, 2018

Roll Call: Black Voters Propelled Blue Wave, Study Finds

Democratic wins in the 2018 midterms were driven largely by African American voters — particularly black women — who increasingly associate the GOP with President Trump’s perceived hostility toward people of color and immigrants, according to an analysis released Monday.

 

November 18, 2018

The Progressive Pulse: Poll – Democrats can thank voters of color for wins across country

The key takeaway from the poll was that Democrats’ 2018 wins across the country were dependent on voters of color, particularly black voters, as a majority of white voters supported Republicans. Four out of five Black voters voted for Democrats compared to less than one-half of white voters.

 

August 27, 2018

The Hill: There’s a boost in black turnout, especially among black women voters

Alabama, Georgia, Virginia. Over the last year strong black voter turnout in all three states drove progressive wins in a special election (Alabama), a primary (Georgia) and a general election (Virginia).

 

August 26, 2018

NYTimes: Frustration With Racism Is Coming to the Ballot Box

A new poll on voters’ attitudes in the nation’s most competitive House races showed that when it comes to perceptions of racism, there are two Americas — one in which people of color are distressed by President Trump’s rhetoric and policies and another in which white Americans are far less convinced that there’s a problem.

 

August 10, 2018

AP: Analysis – One year on, Trump still fuels racial divide

Pollster Henry Fernandez of the African-American Research Collaborative reports that black women in particular feel “disrespected” by Trump, a fact that may mean Charlottesville will come back to hurt Trump after all.

 

August 06, 2018

USA Today: Midterm elections: Black voters angry at Donald Trump expected to turn out in key House races, survey found

Donald Trump may not be up for re-election this fall, but a new survey shows anger at the president and a feeling of being disrespected by him is expected to drive black voters to the polls in dozens of competitive U.S. House races in November.

 

August 06, 2018

Roll Call: Sorry Kanye, Black Voters Don’t Buy Celebrity Trump Endorsements

Kanye West and Dennis Rodman’s recent endorsements of Donald Trump have not impressed black voters in competitive districts whose deep dissatisfaction with the president could play a “key role” in the midterms, according to a poll released Tuesday.

 

August 06, 2018

CNN: Trump may not be enough to swing Latino turnout Democrats’ way

“If the focus of the parties and those organizations is on the predictable electorate, that would be a mistake. There are many more people who are at play who could be potential voters. It’s not just a question of what will those folks do on their own, but where will investments be made to encourage people to get out to vote?”

 

July 23, 2018

US News & World Report: Are Minority Voters Angry Enough to Come Off the Sidelines?

Anger over Trump’s immigration rhetoric and policy moves other minority groups as well, even if they are not directly affect by it, said Henry Fernandez of the African-American Research Collaborative.

 

June 21, 2018

Philadelphia Inquirer: Is separating children from their parents un-American? Not at all, historians say

“I think that at the core of this identification with the immigrants” for African and Native Americans in particular, he said, “is something visceral and familiar. ”

 

May 30, 2018

Washington Post: ‘Barbaric’: America’s cruel history of separating children from their parents

“In each case, we look back at the programs as barbaric,” Fernandez said. “History will similarly consider the Trump administration’s ripping children from their parents as an unconscionably evil government action.”

 

July 10, 2018

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder: America has been separating families long before Trump

“Destroying families is one of the worst things done during slavery,” said Henry Fernandez, co-founder of the African American Research Collaborative and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. “The federal government maintained these evils through the fugitive slave laws and other rules which defined African Americans as property with which a slave owner could do whatever they wanted.”

2018

December 29, 2017

National Catholic Reporter: After year of racial tension, black voters set the tone at voting booth

Just before Alabama held a special election to pick a new senator in December, the African American Research Collaborative survey had said the state, which hadn’t seen a Democrat elected to the position in 25 years, could be one of five states with congressional races where “black votes could matter.”

 

November 29, 2017

ThinkProgress: The lesson Alabama Democrats must learn from Virginia’s Election

Want proof? Let’s take a deep dive into the African American Research Collaborative (AARC) study of the 2017 Virginia election, which found that high turnout among black Virginia voters, about one-fifth of the ballots cast, were the critical edge that pushed Democrat Ralph Northam to victory over Republican Ed Gillespie.

 

November 15, 2017

Washington Post: Did Gillespie ads turn off African American voters in Virginia?

Surveys of African American voters leading up to Virginia’s recent elections found that Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie had surprisingly strong support among black voters in October but that he lost their votes in the final weeks of the campaign . . . 

 

November 17, 2017

Daily Kos: View from the Left

But Roger Vann, executive director of State Voices, noted on a reporter call this week that the effort to turn out black voters in Virginia didn’t just begin in the final three weeks of the Northam campaign. There had been a years-long investment in civic engagement in the state . . . 

 

February 19, 2017

Washington Post: Can Trump win over African Americans? This survey suggests there’s little chance.

As February began, President Trump made a seemingly routine political gesture by convening in the White House with African American allies to mark Black History Month.

2017

November 06, 2016

Washington Post: Too much panic over early turnout numbers for African Americans in North Carolina?

Another poll released last week by the African American Research Collaborative showed that although black voters are far less enthusiastic than they were four years ago, they believe this election is more important than the 2012 presidential election and they intend to vote.

 

November 06, 2016

Ebony: Poll – Black Voters Determined Despite Poor Enthusiasm for Candidates

[H]alf of respondents saying they did not like either candidate and significant numbers in each of the states surveyed saying they were more enthusiastic in 2012 than they are this year. But in all categories, respondents also emphasized that it is even more important to vote in 2016 than it was in 2012 . . . 

 

November 03, 2016

Huffington Post: Majority Of Black Voters Say The Stakes Are Higher In 2016

African-Americans aren’t happy about the presidential election, but then again, who is? Enthusiasm among black voters has dropped 34 points from 2012, according to new polling released Friday. But 56 percent of African-Americans … 

 

November 02, 2016

Amsterdam News: Vote your interest: A unique polling of Black Americans

Voter turnout in the current election by African-Americans and criminal justice and policing were key issues in a recent poll by the African American Research Collaborative. The AARC, hosted by State Voices, is a unique collaborative consisting of pollsters, scholars, researchers and commentators . . .

 

November 03, 2016

Vox: The simple reason black early voting is down, and why it shouldn’t worry Democrats too much

Less than a week before the election, alarm bells went off over Hillary Clinton’s perceived “black voter problem.” A new poll conducted by the African American Research Collaborative . . .

 

November 06, 2016

The Hill: Do Clinton, Democrats Have a ‘Cousin Pookie’ Problem?

But a survey of 1,200 African-American voters conducted last week across the country by the African American Research Collaborative and Latino Decisions found 22 percent of respondents had already voted. Of the 78 percent of black voters yet to cast a ballot, the poll found 86 percent said they are “highly likely” to do so. Almost all said they already had or would vote in congressional races, as well.

2016