A June 2025 Pew Research Center survey of 4,271 Black adults finds that many Black Americans explicitly include non‑relatives (longtime friends, chosen family, community members) in their definition of family and routinely exchange emotional and financial support with them. The report quantifies these patterns and situates them alongside prior work on identity and family among Black people.
— This matters because policies, statistics, and service programs that assume narrow birth or legal family ties (benefits calculation, child welfare, caregiver support, census measures) will systematically mismeasure needs and networks in Black communities.
Sara Atske
2026.02.25
100% relevant
Pew Research Center report (survey fielded June 16–29, 2025; total Black sample n=4,271) that defines family to include non‑relatives and presents data on emotional and financial support exchanges.
Sara Atske
2026.02.25
92% relevant
This Pew report empirically documents the exact claim in that idea: many Black respondents explicitly include longtime friends and non‑relatives in their family networks and report financial help flowing along those ties. The article supplies the survey dataset (n=4,271 Black adults, June 16–29, 2025) that substantiates and updates that pattern.
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