AP-NORC Poll Finds Black Americans More Likely To Say They Never Fly The American Flag

DETROIT (AP) reports that Jerry Esters “proudly displays the American flag each day on his Detroit home,” while Yvonne Pistochini says there is “no scenario under which she would allow the Stars and Stripes to cast its shadow where she lives.”

“This July 4th will mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States”

AP-NORC

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey, conducted April 16-20 ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday celebration, finds Americans’ views of “Old Glory” are divided by politics, age and race.

AP-NORC

The AP says Republicans and older, white adults are especially likely to say they fly the American flag, while younger Democrats and Black adults are more likely to say they don’t fly it.

The survey also reports that about half of U.S. adults said they display the flag at home throughout most of the year, or during holidays, and that about 7 in 10 Republicans and about 6 in 10 Americans ages 60 and older fly the flag at least during holidays.

Matthew Delmont, professor of American history at Dartmouth College, told the Associated Press that “A lot of Black Americans see the flag as a symbol of both inclusion and exclusion.”

Delmont added that Black Americans “also understand the flag can be used to justify a version of patriotism that is rooted in exclusion,” with the flag being used to say “you don’t belong here.”

Associated Press

The AP reports that Pistochini, 79, says the America identified by the flag is not the same country she saw growing up, and she argues that people confuse flying it with being patriotic.

Pistochini said, “Just because you fly a flag doesn’t make you a patriot,” and she added, “We can’t look at (what’s going on) and say this is America.”

The Associated Press reports that about 6 in 10 Democrats and independents say they “never” fly the U.S. flag, including the vast majority, 75%, of Democrats under 45.

“DETROIT (AP) — Jerry Esters proudly displays the American flag each day on his Detroit home”

Caledonian Record

The survey found that only about 3 in 10 Black adults say they ever display the American flag, compared with about half of white and Hispanic adults.

The AP also highlights Esters, a 64-year-old retired clay sculptor for a Detroit automaker, who said, “When these homes were built, Black men like me, my mother and my family ... we couldn’t even buy these homes,” and he said that is one reason he flies the flag.

Nancy Hansen, a 73-year-old retired Customs and Border Protection clerk in Culvertson, Montana, told the AP that “you have to be for the country, no matter what” and that the flag means “freedom.”