Rooted and Rising - Black Families Navigating Racism, Hardship, and Hope - Findings from the UNC-Gallup Black Family Census Study

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle

Rooted and Rising presents findings from the UNC-Gallup Black Family Census Study, developed through the Equity Research Action Coalition’s collaborative equity research approach. The work frames child development across the African diaspora through anti-racist and cultural wealth perspectives, aiming to build a science-based action framework to reduce racism and poverty’s effects on Black children, families, and communities. The report includes acknowledgments, a suggested citation, and a structured outline with introduction, executive summary, and findings.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time1 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Executive Summary

Findings

Rooted and Rising: Black Families Navigating Racism, Hardship, and Hope Findings from the UNC-Gallup Black Family Census Study A Series of Reports from the Black FA3M Study February 2026 ABOUT THE UNC EQUITY RESEARCH ACTION COALITION The Equity Research Action Coalition (ERAC), a university-based collaborative, focuses on co-constructing with practitioners and policymakers actionable research and evaluation to support the optimal development of Black children prenatally through childhood across the African diaspora. ERAC works at the intersection of research, program, and practice through anti-racist and cultural wealth frameworks. ERAC focuses on developing a science-based action framework to eradicate the impact of racism and poverty and all their consequences on the lives of Black children, families, and communities, ensuring their optimal health and well-being. Acknowledgments: The Equity Research Action Coalition stands on the shoulders of many and is grateful for the opportunity to create equitable outcomes for all. We thank the Gallup Center on Black Voices team for their partnership in collecting and curating this data. We thank the families who completed the surveys; we appreciate their time and insights. We thank Dr. Breanna Dede for her contribution to the development of the survey. We also thank Dr. Stephanie M. Curenton, Dr. Chrishana Lloyd, and Dr. Latrice Rollins for their feedback on the overall study goal and survey questions. Finally, we thank Imaginable Futures, the Pritzker Children’s Initiative, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their support that led to the production and dissemination of this report. None of the above listed people are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this document (including, without limitation, its content and policies) . Furthermore, the opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect other contributors and funders. Suggested Citation: Iruka, I. U., Hunter-Rainey, S., Jorgensen, N., Sathish, T. K., Lewisohn, S. P.(February 2026) . Rooted and Rising: Black Families Navigating Racism, Hardship, and Hope: Findings from the UNC-Gallup Black Family Census Study. Chapel Hill, NC: Equity Research Action Coalition at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. Rooted and Rising: Black Families Navigating Racism, Hardship, and Hope 1 FOR MY PEOPLE 1 BY MARGARET WALKER For my people everywhere singing their slave songs repeatedly: their dirges and their ditties and their blues and jubilees, praying their prayers nightly to an unknown god, bending their knees humbly to an unseen power; For my people lending their strength to the years, to the gone years and the now years and the maybe years, washing ironing cooking scrubbing sewing mending hoeing plowing digging planting pruning patching dragging along never gaining never reaping never knowing and never understanding; For my playmates in the clay and dust and sand of Alabama backyards playing baptizing and preaching and doctor and jail and soldier and school and mama and cooking and playhouse and concert and store and hair and Miss Choomby and company; For the cramped bewildered years we went to school to learn to know the reasons why and the answers to and the people who and the places where and the days when, in memory of the bitter hours when we discovered we were black and poor and small and different and nobody cared and nobody wondered and nobody understood; For the boys and girls who grew in spite of these things tobe man and woman, to laugh and dance and sing and play and drink their wine and religion and success, to marry their playmates and bear children and then die of consumption and anemia and lynching; For my people thronging 47th Street in Chicago and Lenox Avenue in New York and Rampart Street in New Orleans, lost disinherited dispossessed and happy people filling the cabarets and taverns an

FAQs

What study does the report present?

The report presents findings from the UNC-Gallup Black Family Census Study.

Which organization developed the research approach?

The Equity Research Action Coalition (ERAC) is the university-based collaborative credited with creating the action-oriented research and evaluation framework.

What goal does the report emphasize for Black children and families?

It emphasizes eliminating the impacts of racism and poverty and supporting optimal health and well-being for Black children, families, and communities.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle