Black views on Juneteenth and brand participation

The first of the Juneteenth celebrations have kicked off across the US including a series of "Unity in Freedom" events celebrated by the Stanford community from June 4 to 19, 2024. As Juneteenth, declared a federal holiday as recently as 2022, gains increasing recognition across the nation, Black Americans are finding new and meaningful ways to celebrate this historic day.

A new YouGov Surveys: Self-Serve poll of more than 1,000 Black adults in the US explores how they intend to commemorate the holiday this year. The survey further offers insights into Black consumers’ views and attitudes towards brands getting involved in the cultural moment and social cause.

Some key findings that emerge from the research:

• More than a third of Black consumers intend to celebrate Juneteenth 2024 by supporting black-owned businesses and by attending or hosting family gatherings (36% for both).
• 37% of Black consumers believe that brands that celebrate Juneteenth don’t really care about the holiday, but think it is important to get more visibility for issues like racial inequality.
• Seven in ten Black consumers say it is important for brands they buy from to stand for social issues that reflect their personal core values (71%).
• Among Black consumers who think it is important for brands to take a stand for social issues, one in two believe that brands should support local community events and partner with black-owned businesses to authentically celebrate Juneteenth.

How do Black consumers plan to celebrate Juneteenth 2024?

More than a third of Black consumers intend to celebrate Juneteenth this year by supporting Black-owned businesses and by attending/hosting family gatherings (36% for both). More than a quarter say they would like to celebrate the holiday by taking part in cultural activities or exhibitions (28%) and attending community events or parades (26%).

One out of eight respondents would like to commemorate the holiday by donating to organizations that support the black community (13%) and engaging in volunteer work (12%). On the other hand, nearly a fifth say they do not plan to celebrate Juneteenth at all (19%).

Black consumers’ views on brands celebrating Juneteenth

While just about a quarter of Black consumers believe that celebrations of Juneteenth by brands and companies is just a way to attract and retain consumers (23%), nearly two-fifths (37%) believe that though brands do not care about the holiday, it is important to get visibility on such issues.

Less than one in five (18%) Black consumers believe that brands who commemorate Juneteenth genuinely think it is the right thing to take a stand against racial inequality.

Do Black consumers think it is important for brands to take a stand for social issues?

While it seems Black consumers seem skeptical of how authentic brands are being when they celebrate Juneteenth, data from YouGov’s survey reveals that nearly three-fourths of Black adults believe it is important for brands they buy from to take a stand for such social issues that reflect their personal core values (71%).

Compared to 62% of Black consumers in the West, nearly three-fourths of Black consumers in the Southern and Midwestern regions of the US say it is ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ important for a brand to take a stand for social issues that reflect their core values (70% and 73% respectively).

Taking a closer look at this group of respondents – those who say it is important for brands to stand for social issues – we explored how likely they are to be influenced by a brand’s Juneteenth celebrations and what they think are authentic ways for brands to mark this day.

One in five respondents in this group say their decision to purchase a product or service from a brand is ’very likely’ to be influenced by the brand’s celebration of Juneteenth (21%), while 28% say their purchase decisions are ’fairly likely’ to be influenced.

On the other hand, more than a quarter of respondents say a brand’s celebration of the holiday has no bearing on their purchase decisions (28%). A substantially higher share of all polled Black consumers shares this sentiment (36%)

How do these Black consumers think brands should commemorate Juneteenth authentically?

While consumer opinions on brands acknowledging Juneteenth are mixed, there is some good news for brands. A significant portion of Black consumers (77%) think there are genuine ways for companies to participate in this holiday, rising to 87% among those who care about brands taking a stand for social issues.

Half of those who think it’s important for brands to take a stand on social issues believe that supporting local community events (52%) and partnering with Black-owned businesses (50%) are genuine ways for brands to commemorate Juneteenth. Over two in five (43%) Black consumers overall feel the same way.

More than two out five respondents say brands can commemorate Juneteenth authentically by donating to organizations that support black communities (45%), creating and sharing content that highlights black achievements (45%) and reviewing internal D&I policies (41%).

An almost equally small share of both groups believes that launching products or services is an authentic way for brands to celebrate Juneteenth (21% and 18% respectively).

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Methodology: YouGov polled 1,013 US adults online on May 30-31, 2024. The survey was carried out through YouGov Surveys: Self-serve. Data is weighted by age, gender, race, political affiliation, education level and region. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Self-serve.