February 27, 2026
New analysis underscores the sturdy kinship bonds many Black Americans share with “play cousins” and different non-biological family members they think about household.
New analysis explores the numerous share of Black Americans who say they have at least one unrelated particular person of their lives whom they think about household.
On Feb. 25, the Pew Research Center launched a new report, “What Family Means to Black Americans,” analyzing how Black communities change emotional and monetary assist with each family and non-relatives they regard as household. The survey discovered that 77% of Black Americans say they’ve at the very least one particular person of their lives—unrelated by beginning, marriage, or legislation—whom they think about household, in comparison with 63% of non-Black adults who stated the identical.
“Half the folks I name aunt or uncle aren’t associated to me in any respect,” Albert Youngblood, 37, a plumber who grew up in D.C.’s Ward 8, told the Seattle Medium. “They had been there when my mother was working doubles. They had been there after I bought in hassle at college. Blood doesn’t make you present up. Showing up makes you household.”
Among Black adults who think about a non-relative to be household, 95% say they’ve recognized that particular person for a few years, and the identical proportion describe them as a detailed pal. Nearly 92% say {that a} non-relative supported them throughout a troublesome time. Additionally, 88% report having a terrific deal in frequent, 85% say they share elements of identification reminiscent of race or gender, and 83% think about them a longtime household pal. About 72% share non secular or religious beliefs, whereas 55% say they grew up in the identical neighborhood.
“My play cousins sat with me each night time that first week,” Sakeena White, 33, stated of her shut non-relatives who supported her after her father died. “We aren’t associated on paper, however they carried me. That’s household.”
Among Black adults with shut non-relatives, 73% say they really feel extraordinarily or very near somebody they think about household, practically matching the 77% who say the identical a couple of partner or associate. Strong bonds additionally lengthen to family, with 48% feeling very near a grandparent, 42% to a cousin, and 36% to an aunt or uncle, considerably increased than non-Black adults in every class.
Financial assist can also be important. Nearly 59% of Black adults say they supplied cash to folks or different family up to now yr, up from 39% in 2021, in comparison with 42% of non-Black adults. But that assist typically carries a burden: 51% of Black adults who gave monetary assist say it strained their very own funds, versus 35% of non-Black adults.
“I’ve written checks after I knew it will tighten issues at dwelling,” stated Landry Baldwin, 48. “But if my folks need assistance, I don’t debate it. That’s how I used to be raised.”
The survey highlights a deep sense of shared identification: 75% of Black adults say being Black is central to how they see themselves, 58% view different Black Americans as brothers or sisters, and 79% really feel at the very least some duty to look out for each other.
“When one in all us wins, all of us really feel it. When one in all us is hurting, all of us really feel that too,” Youngblood stated. “That’s why household, for us, is larger than paperwork. It all the time has been.”
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