Despite Extreme Concern With America’s Prospects, Black Women Are Motivated to Build a Better Future

According to a new survey, an unprecedented majority of Black women voters are dissatisfied with the current state of the country and the direction of America’s future.

Led by The Highland Project, a coalition of Black women dedicated to addressing the racial wealth gap, the survey was conducted with a nationally representative random sample of 701 African American women who are registered to vote.

Over the past four years, Black women’s satisfaction with the direction of the United States has plummeted, dropping from a 58 percent satisfaction rate in 2021 to a current rate of just 8 percent. In this year’s survey, 44 percent of respondents stated they felt the country is going backwards.

When asked how they felt about the country’s economy, 87 percent of respondents said economic conditions in America are getting worse. This is a staggering increase from 2021, when only 33 percent of Black women said the same. Notably, Black women’s pessimism regarding America’s economic prospects is largely due to recent spikes in dissatisfaction. In 2024, only 40 percent felt the country’s economic conditions had worsened in the past year, compared to 87 percent in 2025.

Furthermore, Black women voters’ concerns with their own economic prospects are worse in 2025 than they were at the height of the pandemic in 2021 and 2022. Over half of respondents in this year’s survey said they worry nearly every day about paying their bills (54 percent), healthcare costs (55 percent), and saving for retirement (59 percent). Black women are also more concerned now about handling their debt and losing their jobs than they were during the pandemic.

Half of Black women voters included in this year’s survey said they were affected by the recent federal job cuts, either directly or through a family member or close friend. Nearly all (between 87 percent and 97 percent) of Black women voters disapproved of several recent federal policy decisions in 2025, including issues related to public funding cuts, DEI, and mass deportations. This dissatisfaction has taken a toll on Black women’s mental health, with 45 percent saying their mental health has worsened over the past year. Two-thirds of respondents also said they have disengaged from the news to protect their peace.

Despite their significant dissatisfaction with the current direction of the United States, the majority (55 percent) of Black women are motivated to protect their rights and build a better future. According to survey respondents, the top issues leaders should focus on to strengthen the country’s prospects are funding social security, medicare, and medicaid; protecting women’s reproductive freedoms; improving the economy; putting a check on the powers of the executive branch; standing up to racism; fighting threats to democracy; and improving K-12 education.