Take Affirmative Action, for example. In theory, an overwhelming number of black voters support affirmative-action programs for minorities (though, according to Gallup, that number has declined while support has increased dramatically among whites). And when you drill down into the specifics, the policy becomes markedly less popular among African Americans. When Gallup surveyed the landscape, following a 2016 Supreme Court case that affirmed the constitutionality of using race and ethnicity to make college admissions decisions, non-Hispanic blacks were by far the most hostile toward the decision. Only 35 percent approved of the ruling. Fifty percent disapproved of colleges using admissions criteria that were not based on merit alone. Fifty-seven percent said race and ethnicity should not be admissions factors “at all.” The Pew Research Center confirmed that this apprehension was not limited to college admissions. When asked if “companies and organizations” should take race and ethnicity into account when making “decisions about hiring and promotions,” 54 percent of African-American respondents said no.

Likewise, just about every 2020 Democratic campaign promised to “study” the issue of monetary reparations to the descendants of slaves. Before he dropped out, Cory Booker was the most forceful in his support for an outcome of that “study” that would support such a program. Former Massachusetts Mayor Deval Patrick is prepared to “offer explicit support for federal reparations,” according to Axios. The traction these candidates have generated among African-American Democrats tells you all you need to know about how the party’s primary voters respond to these overtures. Despite being the primary beneficiaries of this proposal, a 2015 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that only 52 percent of black respondents backed slavery reparations. A 2016 Marist University poll showed 58 percent of African Americans would support such a measure.