Article
A new research article by Dr. Christine Slaughter, Research Fellow at the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, and co-authors examines a question that became especially prominent after the 2024 U.S. election: are Black men meaningfully shifting away from the Democratic Party, and if so, why? While Black men remain overwhelmingly aligned with the Democratic Party, a measurable subset expresses more conservative views than their Black female counterparts—differences that could carry meaningful implications in closely contested elections.
Following speculation in the 2024 election around a potential shift of Black men away from the Democratic party, a new article examines what may be driving changes in Black male voting behavior. Drawing on podcast analysis and survey data, the authors investigate the role of Black patriarchy in shaping conservative political leanings, introducing a “Black Patriarchy Index” (BPI) to capture “dimensions of hostile sexism, bootstrap racial uplift ideology, and rejection of intersectional solidarity.”
The findings indicate that a modest rise in conservatism among Black men relative to Black women can be partly explained by patriarchal attitudes, highlighting how these attitudes influence both ideology and party alignment within the Black electorate.
Commentary
Allen Lab Fellow Hillary Lehr convened a Voter Experience Summit at Harvard’s Ash Center in March, bringing together 25 cross-sector experts to rigorously map the voter journey. This essay explores how that collaborative process could lay the groundwork for new interventions to understand and improve the experience of voting for all.
Additional Resource
After Neoliberalism: From Left to Right brought together hundreds of leading economists, political scientists, journalists, writers and thinkers from across the political spectrum to explore and debate emerging visions for the future of the political economy.
Panel videos below.
Open Access Resource
Allen Lab authors Sarah Hubbard, David Kidd, and Andrei Stupu introduce an ethical-moral intelligence framework for evaluating AI models across dimensions of moral expertise, sensitivity, coherence, and transparency in their recently published paper, Crocodile Tears: Can the Ethical-Moral Intelligence of AI Models Be Trusted? in Springer AI & Ethics.
Commentary
As we commemorate 100 years of Black History Month, it is worth remembering that progress was not driven by headlines alone. Beyond the monuments and courtrooms, everyday people took risks to demand dignity and fairness. Among them was my great uncle, whose pursuit of a promotion became a catalyst for change.
Commentary
Allen Lab Policy Fellow Christine Slaughter makes the case that democracy must be understood through people’s lived experiences and agency, not just institutions.
Podcast
Over the past five years, Untying Knots has served as a vital platform for conversations about racial justice, systemic oppression, and community-driven change. Co-hosted by Erica Licht and Nikhil Raghuveera, the podcast — born from a Harvard Kennedy School course in 2020 — explored how people and institutions are working to dismantle entrenched systems of racial inequity while building new frameworks rooted in justice and accountability. As the podcast concludes, Licht and Raghuveera reflect on its origins, evolution, and enduring impact, offering insights into the lessons learned and the powerful voices that shaped its journey.
