The Evolution of the Black Vote and Projections for the 2024 Election Cycle

1960s photo of A large group of African American children gathering around a sign encouraging people to register to vote. Image via Kheel Center at Cornell University.  After more than 100 years of voting, Black Americans continue to navigate against voter suppression in the present day, according to the National Education Association (NEA).  With an increase in voter suppression laws in the 21st century continuing to target people of color, the NEA is considering whether or not race-based prevention of voting is the New Jim Crow.  According to the Carnegie Corporation of New York, voter suppression tactics appear in the form of voter roll purges, voter ID requirements, gerrymandering and limits to voting hours or early voting. The hindrances aim to essentially make voting inaccessible as the conditions disproportionately affect people with lower incomes, communities of color and the youth.  Based on reports from the Pew Research Center, in the upcoming election cycle, Black-eligible voters are expected to reach 34.4 million in November 2024, an increase of 7 percent since 2020.  Although the variety of barriers that have been placed upon the Black community were intended to promote disenfranchisement, data from the Pew Research Center has shown that Black Americans...