Why Most Black Americans Say They Will Never Fly the American Flag

Patriotism remains a live political and cultural issue across the U.S., especially ahead of the July 4 holiday and the country’s 250th anniversary buildup in 2026. A new YouGov survey puts a specific number on that divide, finding that Black Americans are much less likely than other groups to say they would ever fly the American flag.

The poll and the numbers

YouGov released the survey results on June 30, 2025, showing that 59% of Black Americans said they would never fly the American flag. In the same poll, 41% of Black respondents said they either already fly the flag or would consider doing so, according to YouGov’s published results.

The gap was much smaller among white Americans in the same survey. YouGov found that 25% of white Americans said they would never fly the flag, meaning white respondents were far more open to displaying it than Black respondents in the June 2025 data.

The survey measured views about a specific act, displaying the U.S. flag at home, rather than broader questions about citizenship or voting. YouGov published the figures nationally, and the company did not release a state-by-state breakdown with the topline results on June 30.

What it shows in communities across the U.S.

Because the YouGov poll was released as a national snapshot, it does not identify which cities, counties, or states had the widest racial gaps. The company has not released a full list of local results, so there is no confirmed ranking for places such as Georgia, Illinois, or California.

What is confirmed is the scale of the national divide. In a country where the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the Black population at about 48 million alone or in combination in 2023, a 59% share points to a large number of people who say the flag is not something they would display.

That matters in practical terms during public holidays and civic events. Across states from Texas to New York, the American flag is commonly used by schools, city halls, veterans groups, and homeowners during Memorial Day, Juneteenth, and July 4, but this survey shows those traditions are not viewed the same way by every community.

Why the divide exists and what comes next

YouGov’s release reported the numbers, but it did not assign a single cause for why Black Americans were more likely to reject flying the flag. That broader context has been documented for years by organizations including Gallup and Pew Research Center, which have repeatedly found racial differences in trust, national pride, and views of whether U.S. institutions treat people fairly.

Those patterns are tied to measurable gaps in lived experience. In 2024 and 2025 reporting, Pew and Gallup both continued to show that Black Americans were less likely than white Americans to say the country is moving in the right direction or that national institutions represent them equally.

For residents and local officials, the immediate takeaway is limited but clear. The June 30 YouGov poll does not show where attitudes are changing fastest, and it does not predict behavior for any one neighborhood, but it does show that a major national symbol still carries sharply different meaning across racial groups in the U.S. in 2025.