In 2023, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative partnered with Sojourn Strategies to analyze Black Rightfully Cynical voters in Ohio. Building off the Ohio Black values segmentation research conducted by HIT Strategies and Sojourn Strategies in May 2023, Sojourn identified ‘rightfully cynical’ voters and then conducted two surveys (Nov 2023 and May 2024) and a set of listening sessions with formerly incarcerated volunteers affiliated with Building Freedom Ohio in Cleveland. Through this research, they found that Rightfully Cynical voters had low levels of social trust. Many felt politicians had abandoned them and that they, therefore, had to look out for themselves and their families. Despite the cynicism, the research found that these voters believed in the power of collective action and when politicized around their own agency, became more civically engaged members of Building Freedom Ohio.

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