Overview

The Survey of the South captures attitudes on race, class, and equity, as well as pertinent national issues and policies in the South. The 2022 annual survey from E Pluribus Unum (EPU) reveals a growing openness by Southerners on issues such as reparations for African Americans and accurate education on slavery and racism is schools. This is the sixth survey in a deep-dive series by EPU focused on the American South, the first of which was released in 2019.

Who We Surveyed/Methodology

EPU partnered with Allison+Partners to survey 1,800 consumers, age 18 or older who live in the South – including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The racial background of these respondents was evenly split across those who identify as Black, Hispanic and White, with 600 respondents falling into each of these ethnic groups. The survey was fielded using the Qualtrics Insight Platform and panel was sourced from RepData. Fielding was executed in December 2022. 

 

Key Stats

Southerners Largely Support Reparations

  • The survey finds that 74% of Southerners believe that the U.S. should offer African Americans some form of reparations (preservation of Black sacred sites and monuments, educational grants and/or scholarships, investments in predominately Black infrastructure, etc.) to address the lasting harm caused by slavery and other forms of racial discrimination
    • Most believe that the U.S. should preserve Black sacred sites and monuments as a way to address this lasting harm (32%), followed by educational grants and/or scholarships (28%), and investments in predominantly Black infrastructure (27%) 
    • In fact, this year’s data highlights a significant sentiment shift in terms of Southerners’ willingness to support reparations: A 2019 Survey of the South question asked if Southerners supported or opposed financial reparations for direct descendants of slaves, and only 22% of White respondents said they would support such actions. However, in this year’s survey, where specific examples of reparations were provided for respondents to choose from, 67% of White Southerners indicated that the U.S. should offer some form of reparations to African Americans
  • Meanwhile, 27% of respondents don’t think the U.S. should offer any form of reparations to Black individuals
    • White respondents are the most likely to believe that the U.S. should not offer anything to African Americans as a way to address lasting harm caused by slavery and racial discrimination, with one-third of White respondents indicating such (33%) 
  • Despite an increase in support on the issue of reparations, when asked whether creating opportunities for one group of people occurs at the expense of other groups, 54% of all respondents agreed, with White respondents in particular saying so (65%)
  • 42% of respondents feel that moving forward, some groups will be left behind in the U.S., with Black respondents the most likely to believe so (48%) 
  • Nearly half of Southerners feel that people like them are being left behind in the U.S. (47%), with Black respondents most likely to feel that people like them are being left behind (57%), while White respondents are the most likely to not share this sentiment (34% compared to 24% NET) 
  • While more than 2 in 5 Southerners believe that individual (e.g., work ethic) and institutional (e.g., educational opportunity) factors have about the same effect on how well someone fares in the U.S. (43%), 38% say individual factors have a greater effect and 20% say institutional factors have a greater effect  

Accurate Education on History and Race is Important

  • 96% of respondents believe that it’s important that their community’s education system tells the most accurate history of slavery, violence and discrimination against racial minorities in the U.S., despite a national debate on Critical Race Theory, with 40% of respondents saying this is extremely important to them
  • More than half of all Black respondents (51%) believe it’s extremely important that their community’s education system tells the most accurate history of slavery, violence and discrimination against racial minorities in the U.S., compared to 37% of Hispanic respondents and 32% of White respondents 

Southern Outlook on Race Relations in the U.S. is Stagnant, Declining 

  • 46% of Southerners think that race relations in the U.S. today are worse than five years ago, while nearly one-third feel that there’s been no progress, saying that it’s about the same now as it was five years ago (32%)
    • Those that have lived in the South their whole lives are the least likely to believe that race relations in the U.S. today are better than 5 years ago (19% compared to 22% NET) 
  • When thinking about the next five years, more than two in five Southerners expect that race relations in the U.S. will stay about the same (43%), while nearly one-third have hope that it will get better (31%). Conversely, a quarter of Southerners expect U.S. race relations to get worse in this timeframe (26%) 
    • Hispanic respondents are the most likely to believe that race relations will get better, while White respondents are the least likely to think so (35% vs. 28%) 
  • 67% of Southerners are comfortable discussing issues of race with people whose views are similar to theirs, with 32% saying they’re extremely comfortable doing so. When it comes to discussing issues of race with those whose views are dissimilar to their own, less than half (47%) of Southerners are comfortable doing so – of which, 28% claim they’re only somewhat comfortable with it
    • Black respondents are the most likely to feel comfortable discussing issues of race with people whose views are both similar to theirs and dissimilar (72% and 54%), while White respondents are the most likely to feel uncomfortable doing so with people whose views are dissimilar to their own (30%) 
  • The majority of Southerners believe that they can make somewhat valuable contributions to conversations about race (54%), however one in five say they don’t believe they can do so (21%) 
    • Black respondents are the most likely to believe that they can make extremely valuable contributions to conversations about race (36% compared to 26% NET)
    • White respondents are the most likely to believe that they cannot make valuable contributions to these conversations (27% compared to 21% NET) 
  • 42% of Southerners believe that there is too little attention paid to race and racial issues in the U.S. today, with 21% believing there is “far too little” attention being paid 
    • That said, 63% of Republicans believe there is too much attention paid to race and racial issues in the U.S. today, compared to 56% of Democrats who believe there is too little attention towards these issues
    • Individuals living in rural areas or small towns in the South are the most likely to feel like there is too much attention paid to race and racial issues in the U.S. (39% compared to 33% NET), while those in big and small cities feel there is too little attention being paid to these issues (50% compared to 42% NET) 

Southerners Want to Make an Impact, But are Disillusioned with the Prospect

  • A majority of respondents believe that we can effectively address pressing societal issues facing the U.S., like inflation or the opioid crisis, while also addressing race and race relations (52%) 
    • Democrats in the South are more likely to believe this can effectively be done than Republicans (59% vs 48%) 
  • 93% of Southerners believe that individuals are effective at creating change in their community, while 91% say that movements are effective at doing the same
    • However, this drops down to 31% who believe individuals are extremely or very effective at creating change in their community and 28% who believe movements are extremely or very effective at doing so 
    • Black respondents are the most likely to say that movements are extremely or very effective at creating changes in their community, with 36% indicating such compared to 19% of White respondents
  • Southerners most often have engaged with controversial social issues in their communities by speaking to friends and family (71%), followed closely by voting (70%). 23% haven’t organized community efforts, but would consider engaging this way
  • 62% of those surveyed voted in the November 2022 midterm elections, and 58% of those surveyed agree that during the November 2022 midterm elections, all eligible voters had safe and equal access to voting in their communities – with 28% only somewhat agreeing 
    • While 41% of Southerners say they trust societal change will be enacted if someone with their shared belief system is voted into office, a greater percentage say they’re unsure if this will be the case (45% might or might not) 
    • Black respondents are the most likely to believe that societal change will be enacted if someone with their shared belief system is voted into office (46%), while White respondents are the most on the fence, with 49% indicating they’re unsure if they trust this to happen 
    • Democrats are the political affiliation most likely to trust for this to happen (46%) 

 

Shared Background, Beliefs and Southern Roots Impact Sense of Community

  • Nearly two-thirds of Southerners feel accepted by the members of their local community (64%), with 26% feeling extremely accepted 
    • Individuals who have lived in the South for less than a year are more likely to feel unaccepted by members of their local community (22% compared to 9% NET) 
    • This sentiment carries over when asked if Southerners feel like a valued member of their local community, though to a slightly less extent – 52% feel valued, with only 17% saying they feel extremely valued 
  • 38% of respondents think they would be treated poorly by members of their local community if they chose to express beliefs that were different than theirs 
    • 35% of those surveyed believe that about half of the people in their community share their beliefs about race and race relations, while a quarter of respondents think that only some people in their community share their race and race relations beliefs (26%) 
    • Those who have lived in the South for less than a year are the least likely to feel like most members of their community share their beliefs (14% compared to 29% NET and 30% of life-long Southerners)
  • Of the areas Southerners associate extremely or very central to their identity, political party is least often selected (29%) – instead, most Southerners report that their gender identity, sexual orientation and race are extremely or very central to their identity (49%, 45% and 44%, respectively)

Those that have lived in the South their whole lives are the most likely to say that being a Southerner is central to their identity (84% compared to 77% NET)

This resonated with Black respondents the most (82% compared to 77% NET) 

  • Race is a more central element to Black and Hispanic respondents’ identity than White respondents – with this being particularly true of Black respondents (94%, 89% and 83%, respectively) 
  • Compared to other people in their local community, a majority of Southerners believe that they are about as well off as most people, having a similar amount of money, education, and a similar job (54%). This same sentiment is felt when compared to other people in the U.S. as a whole (47%) 
    • White respondents are the most likely to feel that they are worse off than others in their local community (27% compared to 23% NET), while Black respondents are the most likely to feel that they are better off than others in their local community (28% compared to 24% NET) 
  • When asked about the importance of certain values, honesty ranked the highest in terms of what is extremely or very important to Southerners (84%), followed by respect (81%). Interestingly, 49% indicated that personal responsibility is extremely important to them compared to 60% who said honesty is extremely important 
    • Respect was most often selected as being extremely important to Black respondents (61%), while honesty was most often selected as being extremely important to Hispanic and White respondents (55% and 67%, respectively)

Southern Communities Have Little Variance in Identity  

  • When asked about the similarities and differences they have with the people they share close relationships and interact with over the course of a typical week, respondents most often indicated that: 
    • More than half of the people they have close relationships with are the same race as them (34%), while about half of those they interact with over the course of a typical week are the same race as them (37%) 
      • 46% of those in rural areas or small towns in the South say that all or more than half of the people they interact with over the course of a typical week are the same race as them, compared to 35% of those who live in small or big cities 
    • About half of both the people they have close relationships with and interact with over the course of a typical week are the same class as them (41% and 42%, respectively) 
      • 46% of those in rural areas or small towns in the South say that all or more than half of the people they have close relationships with are the same class as them (compared to 42% NET) 
    • About half of both the people they have close relationships with and interact with over the course of a typical week have the same political party affiliation as them (40% and 41%, respectively) 
    • About half of both the people they have close relationships with and interact with over the course of a typical week share their religious beliefs, or lack of them (34% and 37%, respectively) 

Trust Varies by Source, with Politicians, Elected Officials Most Distrusted

  • Politicians and elected officials are the most distrusted information sources, at 51%. They are followed by social media influencers at 44% and celebrities at 35% 
  • Conversely, family are the most trusted information sources, at 77%, followed by friends and doctors at 73%

Local news broadcasters are slightly more trusted than those at a national level, with 49% and 41% of Southerners trusting information from these sources, respectively 

White respondents are significantly more likely to trust police than Black and Hispanic individuals (68% compared to 35% and 48%, respectively) 

Black and Hispanic Southerners are most likely to trust their family (74% and 78%, respectively), while White Southerners are most likely to trust friends (81%)