Opinion: Where is the black middle class? You don’t have to look far
Editor’s note: Kris Marsh is on the faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and was a postdoctoral scholar at the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is on Facebook and on Twitter @drkrismarsh.
By Kris Marsh, Special to CNN
(CNN) - While sharing coffee one day with a colleague and friend, William “Sandy” Darity Jr., we coined a new, emerging group of single and living-alone (SALA) households in the black middle class: the “Love Jones Cohort.” Personal experiences as a member of the Love Jones Cohort help shape, inform and drive my research on this emerging group within the black middle class.
Historically, the quintessential black middle class consisted of a married couple with 2.5 children, a dog, and “Black Picket Fences” - in reference to the book written on the black middle class by Mary Pattillo-McCoy.
Where is the black middle class now, you ask? We are right here, but look demographically different than we did years ago.
My research clearly shows a compositional shift in the black middle class, away from married couples to single and living-alone households. Dovetailing with my research, we need to shift the way we talk and think about single, black professionals – both men and women, although women dominate the category.
The Love Jones Cohort nomenclature is based on the shift in the media portrayal of the black middle class, away from the Huxtables in “The Cosby Show” to the young, single, educated and black professionals in the film “Love Jones”, the show “Living Single” and more recently on VH1’s hit, “Single Ladies.”
One question I often get when I talk about my research: How dramatic is the shift and presence of the Love Jones Cohort in the larger black middle class?
In 2000, 11% of black middle class households in the 25 to 54 range were Love Jones Cohort, up from 5% in 1980 – the group more than doubled its share of the black middle class, from 1980 to 2000. Additionally, the Love Jones Cohort made up the second-largest segment of the black middle class, behind married couples with children.
Meanwhile, married-couple households with children decreased their share of the black middle class. In fact, by 2000, they lost their status as the majority household type in the black middle class - 43% of black middle class households were married couples with children, down from 60% in 1980. If present trends persist, the Love Jones Cohort is on track to become the largest household type within the black middle class.
Given the presence of the Love Jones Cohort, what does this mean for the broader black middle class and black America overall? How will our discussions change regarding this group, and how should it?
I prefer these questions so much more than the omnipresent discussion of what is wrong with the single, black professional and why they are not marrying. I am growing weary of hearing about our lack of marriage and the barrage of emails, tweets, Facebook posts and coffee-shop discussions that highlight our “deficit.” Enough is enough! I do not want to read another book that suggest that black women need to marry - non-black men, that is - for the good of the larger black community in such works as “Is Marriage for White People?”
What I do want to talk about are the Love Jones Cohort’s positive contributions.
Let us talk about how the growth of the Love Jones Cohort helped to stabilize and even increase the overall proportion of those in the black middle class.
Or we can discuss how, if it were not for the emergence of the Love Jones Cohort, the disparity between the black middle class and the larger middle class would be even more pronounced.
We can even talk about how the presence of the Love Jones Cohort should inspire rethinking about how the black middle class is conceptualized, defined and studied, both now and in the future.
We also need to question the long-term consequences this middle class shift will have on black America. This shift challenges the neo-conservative view of marriage as an anti-poverty strategy and provides support for blacks’ ability to attain and maintain higher socioeconomic status without having to marry. The black church must be sensitive to shifting demographics and prepared to adjust, if necessary.
What about the transfer of wealth? Simply put, the Love Jones Cohort is present and growing. We are unmarried and childless. So the salient issue for now is how we will transfer our wealth to the next generation. We can look at the issue as a glass half-full or half-empty – the glass half-full would be the understanding that the we can spread our wealth in innovate ways that we choose, while the glass half-empty is fretting about why we do not have our own spouse, partner or child to share our wealth with.
The beauty of Love Jones Cohort and these types of positive discussions is that they allow us, as a group, to think more critically about this notion of the intergenerational transference of wealth - glass half-full thinking. We can engage in poignant dialog about finding innovative ways to transfer our wealth in the absence of biological children. What, if anything, prevents us from bequeathing our wealth to nieces, nephews, god-children so that they may reap the rewards of our labor? I, personally, would much rather sit in a coffee shop discussing the future of my cohort’s bestowing power and options - or an entire discourse on the need for us to have a collective identity - in lieu of how to get and keep a man.
I propose we embrace the reality of a changing black middle class and start taking a serious look at how the Love Jones Cohort is changing the face of black America, changing how we think about middle class, and changing our understanding of being black in America.
About In America
What defines you? Maybe it’s the shade of your skin, the place you grew up, the accent in your words, the make up of your family, the gender you were born with, the intimate relationships you chose to have or your generation? As the American identity changes we will be there to report it. In America is a venue for creative and timely sharing of news that explores who we are. Reach us at inamerica@cnn.com.
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I can say that minkyu is so cool. Thanks for the helpful post.
This article was stupid, I don't care what her education is.
I agree.. this article is stupid. This article does nothing but prove that the black middle class is diappearing while every other dynamic is progressing. She argues that "marraige" is a neo-conservative ideal to avoid poverty, but in actuality, if blacks continue to think that we can live and pass values on to our children then we are sadly misstaken. We will be extinct in a 100 years because the Latino population is steady growing and the white population will NEVER leave. We come up with excuses to justify why being single and educated in America is the way or the soulution for the progression of the African American population; We just arent taking advantage of the opportunity for REAL prosperity. Again, we as blacks do nothing but make excuses and then we wonder why the legal system, the laws of the nation, or anything else that this country is built on has nothing for us to brag about. Other dynamics in this country are living the American dream but yet we are not even being considered for the possibility. Our middle class earnings is significantly lower than the hispanic population as well as the whites; we have just as much education as anybody. But yet we still continue to make excuses.
Would we even read the article if Obama was not President and black? I find that there is a lot of reverse discrimination examples since Obama came along. Blacks are getting unfair breaks..because they are black and he is black. Blacks TV hosts and black actors popping out of a hole in the ground. Blacks are a minority group and should take their place in the American population as a minority group. Obama will not be there forever and then the special treatment will be over.
The response to this article at best is unnerving, ignorant, and substantiates why education is so important. Clearly people who have no exposure to diversity in terms of culture, ideologies, and values have no frame of reference to understand the meaning of this article–and how misrepresented the author's message intent is. I'm going to need for you to read a book, invest in a thesaraus, and take some sort of culturally relevant training. This is 2012, not the Jim Crow South of the 1800s.
At some point, I lost interest in this article because it became redundant and borderlined on whining. The author has a college degree and a sounding board to voice her concerns. Isn't that good enough for you?! Are you expecting something special because you're black and a college graduate? If you are, keep waiting. If you're not, don't expect a medal. I live in a middle class neighborhood that is racially diverse(White of many descent of East/West Europeans, blacks, Mexicans, and every variety of Asians). Most of us work for the same employer(either the US Navy or the California Dept. of Corrections). No one goes out with their begging bowls asking "Where's mine?".
As usual, this article is based on "Hey, other black people! Where's mine?" of educated black people.
Sometimes if you don't have anything nice to say, it is better to say nothing at all. I prefer constructive, but in your case nice will do.
I love these different color pieces....intelligent
THE BLACK MIDDLE CLASS IS IN JAIL
Great article. Thanks.
There is very little left of the middle class regardless of color.
This author is simply trying to make herself feel better by writing this article, and I don't fault her for it. She clearly is attempting to make her 'Love Jones Cohort', terrible name first of all for one so educated, the new saviors of the middle class by simply being middle class, by existing. I too am a SBF >35. I realize I may never marry. The numbers simply aren't there. She (and myself) are making the best of our situations. I give my wealth to charity and do medical work outside the country. We as singles CAN contribute to society even though we may never marry and reproduce, but we are not the saviors of the middle class, we are just a product of society. Eventually, we will die off and there will be a new norm. Only time will tell. But I speculate that norm will include a blending of races. I already see it. Those with whom I may have been compatible are ensuring that. No bitterness. Just reality.
The author wrote a feel good article for her friends and herself. How sweet! I bet they all own stock in the adult toy industry.
A good point that is being missed is that many of the black people in this country who would be considered middle class are single and aren't necessarily geared toward marriage. With this not so new phenomena, those who choose not to marry can make it a rule to continue making (and increase) their financial and emotional investments in the generation behind them, blood related and especially non (which is lacking outside of church participation), to improve the stature of the culture/race. Many of us do this already, but much more familial and cultural investment is needed if we're ever going to improve in this nation.
Wow,
What a way to brag about yourself and all of your "successful" friends! Blacks are facing racial discrimination beyond the comprehension of man. And you brag about your perfect life! Give me a break! Who have you helped with this research? Soldiers? Underprivileged black children? Homeless? Unemployed? What a waste CNN. People are suffering and you write about how wonderful your life is!
@Givemeabreak according to who go suck a Texas squirrels' nuts and eat a baby dyck straight up SLAVE
Dr. Kris Marsh,
I pray my daughter doesn't grow up to be as pigeon-holed and self-centered as your article and "research" suggest you and the "SALA/Love Jones Cohort" whatever! demographic are. If this is what getting a PhD produces ... it seems to me that this cohort is judging success in life through an extremely liberal ideological lens! For instance, you assume that the basic unit in society/community is the individual. I beg to vigorously disagree: it's the FAMILY. So if you stay single and cherish/value it's material gains, etc. above the sacrifices and commitments of family life, you are part and parcel of the destruction of the family.
Well said Paul.
Dear Paul,
I must disagree. We are not a part of the destruction of society, we are simply a product of that society that has jailed/alienated so many A-A men that the women have no choice but to survive alone or become a 'baby mama' from the few remaining men and raise our children alone (not a nuclear family). That's not for me.
Why do they have to become a "baby mama?" Whatever happened to having a meaningful relationship instead of opening the legs and becoming a part of the problem? And whose fault is it for having jailed A-A? Why not set the example for the race and become a successful family instead of a "baby mama" to a piece of broke trash?
The black middle class is right where it should be; in between the unemployment line and renting a small apartment.
There's always 1 knuckledragger in the group – hence the above comment.
Good article, but stupid catch phrase ("Love Jones Cohort"? Please, you're trying too hard...).
Also, as a PhD you should brush up your vocabulary: the word is "disdain", not "disdainment" (no such word).
Or, get a better proofreader/editor...
Bottom line is, though, if young black professionals don't marry and have children, then their number will only dwindle.
What is so abhorrent about marriage? Are you so selfish that you can't share your life with someone? It's time to grow up, put away your toys, and learn the meaning of commitment and sacrifice that marriage teaches...You're already rare to begin with, if you don't procreate, then you will "evaporate" and disappear...
I agree with this statement. As a 24-year-old black woman working as a professional and earning a master's degree, I HOPE this is not how I'm supposed to be redirecting my thinking. While I don't sit around pining for a "good black man" so I can create my own Huxtables family, I also don't believe it's a trivial to wonder–simply put–why we are waiting so long to get married and why we feel compelled to play the blame game ("black men are arrogant and think they're too good for black women"/"black women are arrogant and think they're too good for black men."). To me, those are the salient questions and ultimately while they are an issue, there are also PLENTY of young black professionals in my social network in both DC and NYC (as well as other cities) dating one another. It's a social shift–it happens. So what if we have kids and marry later? It's not ideal but it's also not the end of the world...let's be happy we're all getting more degrees and becoming more influential in our communities.
Where do either "disdain" or "disdainment" apear in this article?
Disdain: Disdain (or disdainment or disdainfully) is a feeling of contempt or scorn .
Good comment, but I believe this author's underlying message is she is trying to make the best of her (single) situation. There are very FEW Black men in the middle class with whom to marry and build a life. The single Black professional is a woman. That's a simple fact.
Dear Mr. Grant, I believe you have it wrong. The author is simply trying to put a positive 'spin' on her single situation. She is not being a braggard. It is what it is. What should we as single female professionals do? Go get inseminated by black men to make sure the race doesn't die out? Date and marry some non-professional guy who will (eventually) resent my success and choose a partner less ambitious? Well, that doesn't work. Been there. Done that. We're not selfish. Just practical.
I think the author should have stuck to accepted demographic designations instead of making up her own. A single person with no kids isn't a 'Love Jones Cohort' member (now isn't THAT a mouthful?!) they are SINKs. A working couple with nk children are 'DINKs'. Etc. Etc Etc. I *still* don't know what statistical group a 'Love Jones Cohort' member falls into, even after reading the article.
Her 'creative' naming of demographic groups doesn't help her research at all if the audience is forced to pull up 'Urban Dictionary' to find out what it means.
Research actually shows that there is no middle class in America anymore
I am an african-american female physician who is not married. It is next to impossible to find anyone to even go on a second date with. It is difficult to find someone who is at least college educated, not already married, and shares similar interests. I make six figures and feel a lot of men are intimidated by that (not that i tell them what i make). If you tell then you are a nurse, things will progress, but if you tell them you are a doctor...... I date men of all races. I am more interested in who they are as a person (character, personality etc...) than race. Plus if I didn't date outside my race, I would be extremely limited in male prospects. I think if you live in a place like Atlanta you have lots of options, but most places don't have that kind of black professional population. I have brothers who are college-eduated, interesting people and wonder why I can't find anyone like that who is not related to me by blood!
Just wondering what city you are located in. Washington DC has many black professional and/or college educated employed black men.
The word on the street is that a significant proportion of D. C. men are "on the down low".
I'll be your huckleberry!!!!!as long as you have some junk in the trunk
We are not intimidated by the high figures of black women. Quit believing that. No man wants to be with or marry a woman who thinks like him................ohhhhhh steve harvey's 'think like a man, act like a woman'. Bad concept to follow ladies.
Hear Hear from Chicago! Finding a Black man in the middle class not already dating a white woman? Laughable...
Why is everyone whining about lack of educated/professional young black men? I am a young black African immigrant, investment banker, educated, have fine qualities, etc. But I don't just see the women. Where are they?
And as for the writer of the article, I will like to take her out for a date. She needs to have dinner with a gentleman with fine qualities. I bet it's been a while since she did that.
Has anyone conducted a study on a single black male middle class is missing?
I 100% agree with you. I too am a female physician of color in her 30s and not married. Who would have ever guessed it would be this difficult?!? When I tell people they always seem so shocked. And yes, say nurse and at least you get a 2nd date! I feel your struggle b/c I am in the trenches with you. My career is set, I am financially stable and I am lonely and want a college educated man (any race) to make a family with...is that so much to ask for?!? 🙁
This article is a bit one sided for me, but the comments, for the most part are dead on. Racist America at its best. This article paints the picture that the black middle class has evolved from a two parent household, children and a dog to single career minded African Americans women that want to be independent and dont need a man. Well sister, FYI there are still some brothers out here who believe in GOD, Family and love, and at the end of the day you will definitely get more fulfillment out of a strong family rooted in the love of GOD than you will trophies and certificates. I am a married black male, with children, under 35, who makes six figures without a college degree, (not recommended) but thats me. Your article is informative but just one sided thats all, if you chose not to pursue a family then that was your choice, but dont marginalize the black middle class as only being this single career loving, unmarried women. And as far as all the negative comments, I didnt read anything in this article about slavery, the president, unemployment, crime, welfare or any of those typical stereotypical comments from the individuals that dont understand any other ethnic background besides the one they are a part of. This just goes to show you how bothered most non minorities still are by the idea of a black president let alone the reality of it. I love it, this type of commentary constantly reminds me to stay on my toes and just how far we still have to go as a human race. God Bless all of his children, help us to realize what is really important in our lives, "LOVE".
i'm black and i didn't vote for obama because he is black. i would never have voted for clarence thomas or jessie jackson. i don't know why some white people think stupid things like that. as long as you are not one of the rich. they don't give a damn aboutyou or your whiteness. you all better wake up and see who your real enemy is.
you white people who are talking that racist bs need to take a look at who is doing you in and it's not blacks. it's the one percent and most americans are the 99 percenters. you white racist need to wake up. why do you think the jobs left? and the illegles came they want all of us to work for minimum wage. there is not going to be any middle class neighborhoods just rich and poor and where do you think you will be living. you won't be able to move away then. don't you see it's devide and conquer.who do you think are building a lot of these new houses it'not black or white construcion workers.
Do you not realize that saying you white people is also racist.
because what other people would they be? LOL
Do you not realize that saying you white people is also racist.
So true..but lighten your tone.
The jobs left due to "free" trade agreements and the second highest corporate tax rate in the world.
Never saw a black person wear pinstripes like that. Usually the men are wearing baggy jeans half way down their butts and the women are wearing sweat pants. I know, I know, I am racist for saying that, but go to a mall and look around, it is true.
LOL, ignorrance can be so funny at times, not calling you ignorrant, just your comment. You should really get out of your probably small inbred town more often and see more of the african americans who dont wear baggy pants or know how to break dance and the white americans who dont love crystal meth and who have gold teeth. I love Amerikkka
Bert....."go to the mall"??????
Seriously?
My wife and I have a combined annual income of about $270K (which goes damn far in Texas, BTW). When we go "to the mall', we wear.....warm-ups.....or jeans.....or whatever we pull out of the closet that happens to be comfortable. Now.....if you were to see me at my job, that's a different story.
Bottom line; maybe you should try NOT judging a book by the cover.....especially when you see that book walking through the mall (smh) .....
Based on the tone of a majority of the posts on here, "Viva La Racism En America" and therefore, "Viva La Race Card".
First of all, 2 questions. 1) What percentage of the "Love Jones Cohort" are widowed / divorced? 2) What percentage of of this group are single parents? The author of the article has obviously never been married or had kids. It then stands to reason that she her research overlooked some critical data. Not the least of which would be the effect of divorce on economic advancement. It's much easier for someone who's been single all of their life to achieve a certain economic status than someone who chose family over career. Funny how those who find themselves in the "Love Jones Cohort" either complain about being lonely or have to convince themselves (and try to convince others) they're completely satisfied being single and successful.
What has happened to the Black middle class? It's now Asian. Blacks seem to have quit striving.
This article is about RACE and MONEY. YOU are either Black or White and are classified as Low, Middle, or High. Based on this article and comments that have followed two things need to happen:
1) All schools must improve the Race and Culture education. This should include having a thoughtful and meaningful conversation amongst humans that are different but that share the same interests and activities. Its important to have a diverse group so some schools might have to come together regularly.
2) Sociologist need to STOP stirring the pot. Income levels, motivation, and skills vary greatly from person to person. NO ONE INDIVIDUAL CAN SHARE THE SAME KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS. We are all unique. Your research is inherently scewed and flawed. Two people whom appear to have the same education, skills, and experience on paper means very little in the world of getting what you want (money, class).
YOU are now classified and labeled as HUMAN with a history and culture. We ALL have different and unique experiences.
Idealistic dismissal of racial issues screams "I remain uncomfortable with people of difference, and prefer to pretend that differences in people is of no significance in my country".
Racial Issues are human issues. The labeling, name calling, and classification is what separates us idealistically.
All I wanna do is zoom zoom and a boom boom.
When Blacks get over their culture of ignorance, stop making exuses for everything they do and stop blaming slavery for their plight maybe they will progress but I doubt it. For instance, they will always look at Obama as a "Black President" never as just the President and so they go blindly to the polls, adding another point to their ignorance quota.
So true, because whites don't clamor for that "culture of ignorance". That's why Eminem and all those other Hip-Hop artists are so unpopular. It's also why all white conservatives have been so supportive of our president. It's probably why Obama blames slavery for the reason he became president. Have to love the Steven Blooms of the world who paint the true picture of your perfect white America. God bless you all.
Wow, chefdugan's statments IS the definition of ignorance!
you are stupidly optimistic and seriously must have grown-up/live in an insulate all-white community because the majority of black people are exactly as he says, he's not ignorant. i would also add Oprah as a reason why blacks voted for President Obama. the reality is blacks see themselves along racial lines and among their own kind more than white people almost to the pooint where they care more about race.
Bobby.....how would you know what the 'majority' of Black people think.....and why they would think it?
I mean....dhave you done a study, or do you know most/all Black people to be able to make this claim?
Or....do you make this claim because you're angry and need to make simple rationalizations in order to soothe your easily bruised ego?
Just wonderin'......
Until blacks start voting for the issues instead of skin color expect the same ol same ol.
Shawn, this is not just a black problem it is also a white problem. Its the reason the country is in such a mess.
Look around unemployment is not just a black problem these days granted it is worse in the black community. We as a people no matter what race or color need to pay closer attention and vote as if our lives depend on it. Because, it does.
Blacks always voted democrat no matter the skin color.
@nocarenomore
Somebody needs to read their history back during the Civil Rights most blacks were Republicans and do you know why?
This is where I suggest you do research on the Democratic Party and you will understand why I will never vote Democrat EVER.
Chefdugan – I don't think they are blaming slavery, but rather the modern day biases and out and out hate that you display. Like when a black interviewee withOUT a criminal record is less likely to be offered the job than a white interviewee WITH a criminal record - with the same age and education. Similarly a black interviewee with some college vs. a white high school dropout - for the same job!
As for the blacks blindly voting their skin color. Good grief, how could they vote for a clueless Republican after Bush wiped out 37% of the value of the stock market during his 8 years? I think they voted for someone who didn't seem like such a clueless bozo. They were amply rewarded - the S&P 500 is up more than 50% under Obama - a massive vote of confidence by the investor class. Google: Historical Prices – Yahoo Finance S&P 500
you have no facts to prove that and "the buck stops here" a phrase from one of your most famous democrats. seriously, find me a black person that dislikes Obama and i'll find you 1,000 that do; there's a reason why...
@Carlos and how does any of that help black people open your eyes Obama has not done anything for blacks. It's like the supporters for Obama are not supporters but cult members. You fools dont see he has no intentions of improving the lives of black people, but them white boys it's another story. You need to checkout what Malcolm X says about white liberals and it still holds true today. It was only under the Clinton administration were blacks had the largest increase in wealth and income in history and no other president can claim that, but you voted for a skin color that dont give a damn about black people. Oops I forgot he's giving you an extra $25 on your welfare check.
I agree with your statement, it's a culture of ignorance.
Quotas is what makes up America right...who said life was fair? We live in America don't we?
When whites quit pretending that race is not a huge issue for them (like requiring Obama to show his birth certificate in order for them to relax) blacks might listend to your BS
he's hiding something
I for one am tired of all these sociologists, psychologists, social engineers and other academics with their worthless degrees trying to figure out what is wrong with us black people. There is nothing wrong with the black middle class, and this new lifestyle, The Love Jones Cohort, is not saving the black middle class. It is just another lifestyle comprised of black wannabe elite professionals. It is easy to live this way because the salary of most professionals lands them in the middle class. For blacks making 25 to 40k a year, it's much smarter to make a decision to marry. By combining these two incomes, the married couple now become middle class. My wife and I have always been professionals. First, professional soldiers, now she is a college educated IT professional and I am a healthcare professional with degrees in chemistry and law. To us, it was easy. Just commit to each other, our children, and school all at the same time. Sounds difficult, but we supported each other throughout the process and made our lives work together, while achieving our individual goals. We never thought we were doing anything special. We just did it. Marriage works for some, and not fr others. I do not think our way is better than the Love Jones way, it is what works for us. I am 44 years old and have been married 24 years and I have never regretted marrying so young. I am still very much in love with my wife and I love our lives together. If you Love Jonesers love your lives, and I believe that you do, then live it happily!
Peace
The Black middle class has been where it has always been for 50 years – hiding among the White middle class and avoiding like hell the Black lower classes. That's the Balck mentality at work – me first and to hell with everyone else.
What makes you an authority on the black middle class? If it wasn't for the sororities and fraternities, and other groups like the toastmistresses many young men and women would not be able to attend college. The black middle class are giving back especially to those who are trying to help themselves. Who do you think are funding these megachurches it surely isn't the Welfare moms and the under employeed?
Your bogus familiarity with blacks is clear. You only know a few blacks at work. Nowhere else. They don't live near you or socialize with you so you may as well be quiet now.
As a married black woman, 6 figure houselhold income (even after I stopped working to be a mom), 2 kids, 1 dog, & the home, I wear sweats almost everyday. I think many of your comments are ignorant and without merit.
About the author, she is only of 1 opinion and her research via her world not the rest of America. She doesnt represent me, my single sisters or my single girlfriends some who arent degreed and some who have a degree, seeking their masters, law and Ph.D's. We dont know why she is single. Let her speak for herself and those that want to be in the "Love Jones" catagory. She probably needs to step away from hollywood the media and get out and meet some real black folks/singles/families. "Birds of a feather...", "misery loves company", middle class is about the dollars no the minds.
The problem is that people allow themselves to be "class"-ified. Leave that for the government. Know who you are and let those small minds do their jobs, fill out those polls and report those surveys. What is the census for??
For the whites with their opinion, as long as they think they know us, we have the upper edge. They show their stripes; white and off white depending on who they are talking to that day. Havent you all learn that people who have negative opinions about others its jealousy, curiosity, they just want to look like us, love like us and be strong like us. Anyone outside of the black experience speaking against us has obviously been affected, wishing they could understand our laughter under oppression, our plight thru controversy as we hold our heads high. Let those folks talk and then let them walk. Black people remembering where they came from and how they got there is about determination, family bonds, it is about the village for those who forget they will continue carry a front and will never be fulfilled until they are true to themselves.
Education doesnt change your color it changes your cover until you walk into the room and they see your face. Racism is alive and kicking. For the folks that look down on those of us who wear sweats in the mall and the streets; when I suit up and walk in the room you want to know who I am, who does she think she is, where did she come from, all I have to do is open my mouth and you are engaged. The problem you have with me is that you know if I say BOO! you will run and warn your people. Ask yourself, What am I afraid of?
dugan....you say that the Black middle class avoids the Black lower class?
OK.....so how many White middle class live in trailor parks?????
In my experience, most Black middle class live in Black middle class neighborhoods.....and most White middle class live in White middle class neighborhoods.
And yes.....the majority of the rest live in integrated mddle class neighborhoods.
Seems that your 'hypothesis' about the socialization of the Black middle class is NOT rooted in personal experience.....nor in academic research.....but rather in some deep seated racial bias.
Which leads me to ask you....."ya mad, bruh?"
That outfit she has on looks like a potato sack with pinstripes.
Your comment is not related to her color at all
Colored News Network.
Love it! That's hilarious and exactly what it's turning out to be
Uncle Tom is the new black middle class.
Blacks are either wealthy athletes/rappers, or ditch diggers. It's the harsh reality. I hate to say it but their culture is perpetuating this stereotype that they're uneducated and unusable in a modern workforce.
So, you never met a black teacher, doctor, or lawyer? Such a shame your views are so limited.
40 million blacks in America and you only know of professional athletes.
You should read more and travel. There is no need to stay bitter and limited. Life and this country is too great.
Sooooo.... I take it all you do is watch cable. Its okay that you stay in your walls because I would be afraid of us too, especially depending on your success and education. Remember the difference between day and night is that anyone can master navigating with the light but navigating in the dark takes intellegence and perservernce oh and by the way it took Harriet Tubman. Where do you live? who built your home, who invented the origin of the phone, did you everr eat PEANUT BUTTER and jelly. Oh what fabric do you get dresssed in most mornings, that would be cotton, UM who made that easier to fabricate. Oh yes and after you leave your home, while you are waiting for your turn to go at the STOP LIGHT think about those OTHER blacks that you are obviously not educated on. Shall I go on, See we have no problem sharing our intelligence and prosperity. People that think along the same lines as you have difficulty moving away fromthe television set and opening your minds. As I touch on in my earlier blog jealously and ignorance runs through the veins of many racists. When you decide to eat your meals, remember those seasonal crops that you take delight in cooking and eating were farmed with intelligle direction from yes a black man. I know you are not responsible for dividing the human race but a Black man was the FIRST doctor responsible for dividing siamese twins. Shall I go on... People go out and educate yourself, and again ask yourself, What ami afraid of?
You told him.You are so right. Small minds=Jealous-fearful individuals.
Oh Dustin, dust the cobwebs out of your itty bitty brain! My husband is an Engineer, I'm a Director of a non-profit, our son's a pharmacist, our daughter's a teacher, their grandparents were a teacher and a physician in private practice. And guess what? We're all black! How'd that happen?!
If you are in a good neighborhood and the black people start moving in property values go down and crime increases. Coincidence?
The reason why the neighborhood goes down is because when white people see blacks moving in their neighborhood they sell their houses cheap and move.This makes the home prices in the neighborhood decrease. Since the prices are much lower then people who couldn't afford those houses move in. So it's not black people making the home prices go down it's the white people who don't want to live next to black people that brings it down. Look at Detriot and Chicago. Black Doctors and etc tried to move into nice neighborhoods but their white neighbors feld bringing down the whole community. People are so ignornant. They come and look at these articles just to be hateful.
Seriously, I don't know why this is so hard for people to understand.
The cities with highest crime rates, also have highest population of minorities. St. Louis, Atlanta, Memphis, Baltimore, Detroit... Contrast that to the cities with lowest crime rates; Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Portland, Boston, Seattle. These cities have the lowest population of minorities, couple that with 26% of African-Americans live below poverty level. Final point, non-Hispanic blacks accounted for 39.4% of the total prison and jail population in 2009. These are cold hard facts, and my belief why people move out when minorities move in a neighborhood.
The cities with highest crime rates, also have highest population of minorities. St. Louis, Atlanta, Memphis, Baltimore, Detroit... Contrast that to the cities with lowest crime rates; Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Portland, Boston, Seattle. These cities have the lowest population of minorities, couple that with 26% of African-Americans live below poverty level. Final point, non-Hispanic blacks accounted for 39.4% of the total prison and jail population in 2009. These are cold hard facts, and my belief why people move out when minorities move in a neighborhood.
Media reporting of crime goes up, and highlights race as a factor. Whites fear blacks and need to justify their face based filight. Megan Kanka's parents would have fled if a black family had moved next door. Jaycee Dugard was not kidnapped and raped for years by minorities. So many non minority priest continue to molest children. Crystal meth (and associated crimes) are not a minority thing. Enron, Lehman etc were caused by greedy whites whose depraved indifference caused large #s of people everything they worked for. Richard Fuld is a criminal who wore a suit to work everyday until Lehman Bros collapsed as a result of his unchecked greed. Yet his white neighbors were very comfy with him next door.
I live in a good neighborhood and actually the fairer neighbors are trying to keep up....even asked who does our landscaping... ain't nobody selling these houses to get away from my beige behind, they are custom built, what a waste of energy...and I make them wave at me every morning when I go on my walk–just smile...
But in reference to this article, I have several best friends who have a strong six figure incomes, own their own homes/condos, travel and are well educated; while that is all fine, they miss the husband and the kids. There is no level of success that can compete with the love of a family/man. The pain can not be replaced with a larger portfolio, so I say the Love Jones Cohorts need to bypass the coffee chats about basically nothing that important and spend that time in search of love, it is out there...but you have to be active in finding it. It probably won't land on your front door...I say this because, this is the best time of my life, and I am married to a great man, but was single just four years ago. I made it a mission to find him and I did, my friends praised my accomplishments and said I needed to wait on him to find me–don't put yourself out there like that, they'd say. That sounded like waiting on something I wanted, and made no sense... I've always gone after what I wanted, and had the faith and confidence to know that it was just a matter of time, if I put the same effort into my research for my mate as I did my work, I'd be fine. And, I am !!
Wow. Some pretty ugly and yes racist posts here. Dr. Marsh is commenting on a cultural phenomenon, something researchers in demographics, sociology, etc. do all the time–baby boomers, the graying of America, first generation Americans, gays in the military, whatever. So we have a burgeoning single well-educated black middle class. That's a new trend so it's notable, just like women delaying childbirth is a new trend so it's notable, or women getting more college degrees than men is a new trend so it's notable. What do such trends portend? That's the point here, not for everyone to get their knickers in a twist about class and race–ah, but that is what matters in this country, isn't it, as the uglier comments reveal.
My concern after reading this article is that the mindset the author seems to represent are people with no interest in getting married. The human race like every other species has a natural instinct to reproduce. The most optimistic scenario for the black American population is that every person who escapes poverty and gets an education and economic stability will raise children with their work ethic, vision and values and the effect will be contagious and multiplying. Social and economic stability would eventually become the rule rather than the exception. If the black middle class refuses to multiply and pass along its secret to success onto new generations, who wins the Darwinian race? Those who live in poverty and ignorance and pass along their secrets to failure to their children.
If you're a hard worker, get an education, know how to properly communicate with people and are yourself a good person...you'll be middle class no matter what your skin color is. Who cares where the black middle class is? The main thing it care about is getting as many PEOPLE into the middle class as we can. Quit whining about being black cause that's all this is.
You are correct on your statement. But some of us in the Black middle class think that we have arrived. In reallity, we have not even left yet.
If you have not "left yet" ultimately whose fault is that? It all comes down to choices and determination–if you make the right choices (like do not clown around in elementary and highschool and instead get good grades and apply for financial aid and scholarships) then if you are determined to work, even if that means leaving the state you are from and striking out on your own AND if you are willing to take your knocks and lots of rejection–sooner or later you can leave the station–and IF you ever do and actually succeed, you will find that there is no black middle class–though there are many black people within the middle class. You cannot describe a demographic when many blacks do not even reside in the "communties" or even go to the communities that still persist in being separate in mindset as well as physically.
if blacks are putting their faith in obama than where's all their prosperity ?
How was prosperity supposed to arrive? Somebody was supposed to walk over and give you a box of it? Or was it supposed to come to you at your job, where you do not have the sense to get a college education or to put out resume after resume and MOVE to a more prosperous part of the country or learn interviewing skills.
Obama is the President. His job was NEVER to make you or anyone else prosperous–that is actually more the job of Congress and your State Government. What Obama is–is a cheerleader and spokesperson for the country and a springboard for his party–same job as any President before him. As for anyone whining about Prosperity:
ASK NOT what your country can do for you–ask what the hell you have been doing for yourself"
Lance – At least Obama stabilized the economy, even grew it some, so that it is now higher than it was at the peak in 2007 before the crash. When Bush left office, he handed Obama an economy that was losing 700,000 jobs a month and the GDP was contracting at a 6.4% annual rate (Q4 2008). Under Bush, the unemployment rate increased 3.5 percentage points while the Civilian Labor Force Participation rate fell 1.5 percentage points: from 67.2% to 65.7% (had the participation rate stayed the same, the unemployment rate would have risen even further).
And look what Bush did to the stock market. When Bush took office, the S&P 500 was 1343. When Bush left office and Obama took office, it was 850 (a 37% drop during Bush's 8 years). As of this writing, 1/11/11 close it is at 1292, up 52% since Obama took office). (Google: Historical Prices – Yahoo Finance S&P 500 ). So if the black middle class has confidence in Obama, it is quite understandable, and right in line with the investor class.
Oops - S&P 500 at 1292 as of the 1/11/12 close, not the 1/11/11 close
Class distinction is nothing but a ruse, why not stress character, honor, responsiblity and integrity. Values should be at the core of the black community. What we can see is that the skyrocketing out of wedlock births, incarcerations and vast amount of other social issues are indicative of that lack of value. The only hope for black people is there return to there true root which is Islam. Without it they will follow the ways of the dominate culture which is filled with shallow motives, corruption and a greed for power and control. Black people should chart their own course and distinct from the ill ways of these people.
I was with you right up to "Islam". People can learn values without dogma. The black "middle class" should be on the street making a difference in their own society. Does anyone remember the example set by Martin Luther King?
Lost me at islam as well. Blacks have enough problems with their own culture let alone join a cult.
It does not matter if you speak of lower class, middle class or upper class. The great plague of America is the plague of Usury it is what keeps blacks, whites, asians, native americans and immigrants in perpetual slavery. There is no freedom when the bankers of yokes around the necks of the public. Until this cancer of the system is addressed the issue is mute.
look to Canada for good examples, Canada is truly the best country in the world.
Well.. no..!!! Canada belongs "with" the best but is not.... Donah..//
The reason blacks dont get hired more is because you cant put them in a position where they handle money or peoples credit card numbers
Well outside of that being a complete falsehood, it's just plain stupid. But I suspect the world you live in inside of your head is filled with these kind of stereotypes. God help you.
LOL–you better actually LOOK at who is taking your credit card at the stores and at Starbucks, McDonalds and other places.
@Twang , you are wrong ! Its white American who commit white collar crimes , which is money laudering , over seas illegal money trade...and the list goes. America have always been a slavery country because slavery started with white -Americans first .I am from the island , my entire family is mix with white , chinese, indian , and black. Only in America people care about race not in other countries. Thank you
Do the names Madoff and Stamford ring a bell? They just made off with the life savings of thousands of families, I didn't know they were black. Racists fool like you live in a altered universe. Your hatred and bigotry can not allow you to see reality. So you will forever remain a fool.
twang......my credit card information was stolen and my account illegally used by a White restaurant employee (he was caught and prosecuted), not a Black one.
Just sayin'......
I think I would start a foundation, adopt a child, help another start a business, recover economically, etc., focus on direct intervention and social services if I were in a position to do so.
Okay.. so that´s IT...!!
but where are you brother..??
The other question is WHY? WHY are you not in a position to do so, my brotha?
the only race card that anybody should be playing right now is illegal immigration. the middle class is being displaced by illegals who broke the law to come here, learned our trades, then drove the wages down by working cheap. unless the illegal immigration issue is properly addressed, namely get them ALL out of america, the american middle class is doomed regardless of color.
Go live in places like Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Honduras in the slums where the majority of black people live. F U K K you N I G G A S complaining.
your right
That would be "you're" a contraction of you are NOT YOUR (which is a possessive) –what is hurting the middle class (regardless of race) more than anything is the dearth of a truly effective education.
hear hear... and I lived in "many "places".... Donah..//
hear hear... and I lived in "many "places".... yes.. but nobody noticed....Donah..//
SMH. *yawn* Don't you get tired of hearing your own voice saying ignorant things. And I just bet you play the "I'm an oh so awesome Christian" card now don't you...
I am so sick and tired of black people complaining about what they dont have, race, finances, and all the other bs that these plantation monkeys have led them to believe asthough their still in chains because those white blue-eyed demonic liberals control their minds. The plantation monkeys are the black organizations such as the NAACP, CBC, and etc..that are controlled by white liberals of what to say, how to think, what to feel, how to act, and what your boundaries are when serving them. According to the survey, black buying power is estimated now at about $913 billion and is projected to increase to $1.2 trillion by 2013. My concern is about my black people in Central and South America and the Caribbean who dont have an opportunity, who live in slums, dont have educational opportunities, dont have healthcare, equal justice under the law, clean water and sewer sanitation. Hopefully, my organization will be able to start a bridge of opportunity for them here in the United States by putting them on a path to citizenship, I bet you they will take full advantage what this country has to offer.
I can't say I agree with this article. Yes, you can do well single but regardless of how well you do it WILL be less than if you had a contributing spouse. The lack of a family doesn't just mean you don't have anyone to pass your wealth on to.
Families are also key to raising the next generation not funding it. It takes more than an inheritance to raise a PHD. If our generation of professionals aren't the ones raising the next generation of children, who then?
@queen bytch and Christopher Clark I was raised in tha hood with my 5 siblings and a single mother with no job and no goverment assistant, at the age of 14 I started a summer job were I paid the rent, utilities, bought groceries I was the man of the house. Graduated from highschool and college. We wore handmedowns, no new school clothes, we didnt have a car so we walked everywhere regardless of the wheather. My family had water and gas turned off at the same time, most of the time we barely had enough to eat people brought food to us. 3 of my siblings have 4 year degrees. STOP MAKING EXCUSES LAZY AZZ NEGGAS-from a real blackman
@Queen Bytch Im sorry what's your real name Sequita I have surpassed black ignorance and stupidity at a point that returning to that level requires me to lower my intelligence. With a name like QUEEN BEE I suspect you are of a GHETTO MENTALITY maybe with 3 children with 3 BABY DADDIES and perhaps has begin to think about getting your tubes tide and not blame society for the 3 B A S T A R D S you brought into the world and expect society to take care of them. It would do you good and society that you make an appointment to a doctor, wait a minute you dont have a doctor, just go to the local clinic and can you say BIRTH CONTRL.
have began i mean for you english scholars
tied i mean see i catch mistakes too bad Queen Bytch didnt catch hers the 3 i mean
@Yepyep, visit a housing project instead of a fact sheet and you'll realize how ridiculous that entire paragraph just sounded.
..Or visit all the housing projects in the United States and tally up the residents and you will find that less than 1% the over 40 million blacks live there and if you go the same route with Welfare, you will find less than 5% of blacks are on Welfare also. How do we know this is so? Because the TOTAL # of project dwellers is much less than 400,00 and the total number of welfare recipients though about 4 million are also 75% white people. Good luck with your racist rant. LOL
Whoops–sorry Christopher, that was for yepyep, not for you. Yepyep being pure ebonics. LOL
Tetsuya Lai http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnEeZFg3suM&feature=share
Outrageous racism of D&G shop and the Tsimshatsui mall in Kong Kong, reported by the popular and daring Apple Daily of Hong Kong. The D&G (Dolce & Gabbana) shop in Hong Kong didn't allow Hongkongers to take photos in the public area in the street outside the shop. Camera was covered by the security guard. The guard in the mall told the reporter that local Hong Kong residents are not welcome to visit as they only expect luxury goods buyers from the communist governed mainland China to come. Tourists from communist China are obviously allowed to take photos in the public street area outside the shop. Lawyers told the press that this is infringement of public access and human rights. The reporter came to test the shop and the mall in Tsimshatsui, as a follow-up action of readers' complaints.
If you are not luxury goods buyers from Communist China, or if you are not prepared to buy as rampantly as the communist buyers do, please think twice before you come to visit Hong Kong, which is now a place contaminated with communist racism, greed and bad manners of luxury outlets. We Hongkongers regret to tell you this, but as our SAR Hong Kong government is dwarfed by the communist Chinese government in Peking (Beijing), who claim to be the most powerful nation next to the USA, we can only treat you well when Hong Kong regains its autonomy.
According to lawyers of Hong Kong, the display should be considered public, and D&G nor anyone has the rights to violently block any individual, citizen or alike, from taking pictures in or of the public. Most important, the now world-infamous shop is RACIALLY DISCRIMINATING against the local Hong Kongers!
Say no to racism against Hong Kongners!
If it's anywhere- it's in the US. For those that beleive Obama, got to any socialist, marxist or communiist country find me a middle class, then compare to the middle class of the US.
Stop complaining, get a job and work. What was the opportunity cost of filming and writing such an ignorant and racially biased article, as opposed to doing some real work.
I am black, make between $65k-$75k, married with kids, 2 degrees and my own business. I will definitely pass on my legacy and I live to teach my kids that everything you have is because you earned it. When you know better you do better. Let's start teaching each other America and stop being so quick to put each other down.
BLACK MIDDLE CLASS ??? DO WE HAVE A MIDDLE CLASS IN AMERICA ???? IS POOR AND RICH. 2 CLASSES THE HAVE AND THE HAVE NOT.
You mean the working and the non working. If you want something you don't have then you go out and earn itbinstead whinning about not having it.
Just wondering... one of the assumptions made by the article, especially as far as intergenerational transmission of wealth, is that the Love Jones cohort will never marry. Is it possible that the Love Jones cohort is delaying marriage for education in their youth, pursuing their careers, and will come to adopt more of the "traditional" Black middle class structure?
This is happening across the board. If you were to research young couples today, many have been living together for many years, and the marriage discussion is not a factor.
Exactly, which is part of the point I was trying to make. Any sort of data is a static snapshot of a single point in time. Much like most of upwardly mobile America, delaying marriage and children in favor of career is a strategy used to ascend or maintain social class status. There are certain assumptions, including that because they aren't married now, that they never will be, or that this is a "new" phenomenon.
Anecdotally, there are a lot of "Love Jones" at 25, 30, who 5-10 years down the line will look identical to the traditional middle class Black family. So we have to beg the question of whether the Love Jones cohort is truly changing the concept of what it means to be Black and middle class.
I'm not saying the author doesn't have a point, but maybe we don't have enough data to to tell just yet.
SOmebody just snapped! WHy?
Your research is interesting, cause for rethinking, and raises a bunch of questions:
". . . 43% of black middle class households were married couples with children, down from 60% in 1980."
Is this trend consistent with white middle class households? If not, what accounts for the difference?
". . . we need to shift the way we talk and think about single, black professionals – both men and women, although women dominate the category."
Do white women dominate the category of single, white professionals? If not, what accounts for this difference?
Thanks.
This article suggests that the Middle Class, both Black and White, which was created between 1950 and 1990, has lost growth, due to the fact that higher paying manufacturing jobs were shipped offshore.
This article wouldn't bother me if it didn't use horrible examples. The shows you mentioned aren't even positive depictions of single black people and many episodes show black women trying to get and keep a man. When trying to make a point you should use an example that helps your point. Also; there seems to be a tone that is attacking the black family structure. Why assume that people will have nieces and nephews; if they are single why assume that their siblings aren't. Why assume they have siblings in the first place to make nieces and nephews? If everyone is single and childless then the black race would cease to exist so someone has to do it. How is it fair, then, to promote blacks to be single by offering passing down money to nieces and nephews as an alternative to having children of their own? That's like saying, "don't worry about keeping a man let your sister do that."
There is and has always been a Black middle class and a Black upper class. And contrary to some of the comments posted above, this class has worked conscientiously to "lift as they climb" mentoring and helping those from lower socio economic brackets and bringing people of color to the forefront in their work as psychiatrists, sociologists, writers, etc. The Black middle class were the doctors and teachers that worked in the Black community when Whites didn't. They are the ones who paved the way in education. The Black middle class is not new, although it is evolving, it isn't going anywhere.
I also believe that there is another option not mentioned here. As a Black woman who is 40 and unmarried I am seriously considering single motherhood. A very different single motherhood than is portrayed in the media of an unmarried teenager with an "oops" child. Although the white picket fence, husband and 2.5 kids may not be in my future, I can and may choose to have a child on my own being financially and emotionally ready to be a parent and counting on my father to be that child's Black male role model and my mother, aunt, and sisterfriends to help be the village that raises that child. And even if I end up childless, I am sharing my knowledge with my students and helping to teach tolerance and diversity and acceptance to students of all races.
@Prof A they got you, you sound like those white blue-eyed liberals. Im still baffled how do white liberals control 85% of black people even the ones with degrees.
its F U K K I N G AMAZING
Agreed. These are the people who live in neighborhoods where there is no minority within a 30-mile radius and pretend that it is so because blacks are all lazy losers. I suppose the OP has many black friends and not racist at all.
Prof A – Right there with you. I thought if I worked hard and prospered I would have the husband, the little brown kids, the house and the quintessential American dream. Cut to my 40s. I have none of those things. I will consider adoption or if I can still have one as now the main path to a revised version of that dream of family. I grew up in a two-parent household and thought I was going to give my children the same. There is a bittersweetness to it all, especially since I missed out on some good opportunities with men who were not black. Like you, if I am not lucky enough to have the motherhood experience, then I will teach youth and impart knowledge to those of any ethnicity. I don't think the younger set or men understand the divine pain there is in wanting family and not having family.
There is no black middle class. They are either lower class and selling drugs and on welfare or they are professional atheletes or rappers that use the drugs that the lower class sell. I wish I was black so I had something to blame everything on in my life too.
So what color are you? Let me guess... white.
Well... for your information we have everything from black postal workersto black doctors and black astronauts. Way to ignore an entire populations of people in your obviously ignorant comment. By the way I'm black and I don't sell or use drugs. I come from a middle class family who also don't sale or use drugs and we blame nothing on no one. Have a nice day in your ignorance.
So what color are you? Let me guess... white.
Well... for your information we have everything from black postal workerst o black doctors and black astronauts. Way to ignore an entire populations of people in your obviously ignorant comment. By the way I'm black and I don't sell or use drugs. I come from a middle class family who also don't sale or use drugs and we blame nothing on no one. Have a nice day in your ignorance.
Wow, what an ignorant statement. Jason, let me introduce you to the black middle class. I'm a black engineer who is a SR. VP at a Fourtune 100 Company. My brother is a black doctor. My family has owned supermarkets for over 100 yrs. Our family has doctors, lawyers, bank executives, teachers, etc. We are not on drugs nor do we have babies out of wedlock. Oh and by the way, the President is black (even though I didn't vote for him).
@Senator we need more black consevatives I guess the 15% that didnt vote for Obama will have to will have to teach our children nothing is giving to you, you must work. The Kingdom of heaven is not given, but you must labor for it, that means work. I pray that people like you will help lead our youth before it's too late. We have generations upon generations who have been assimilated into THE GOVERTMENT HANDOUT SYSTEM that has destroyed black communities across this country. What people dont understand that this system is passed from generation to generation.
You are successful and you are part of a broad Black Problem.
that is mean stop it
@Jason, You do have something to blame you miserable life on, you are apparently a loser, in a society where you as a ignorant white person still have a lot of options but obviously have not been able to take advantage of them. That is what happens when you hate so much Jason, it takes som much energy you rarely have time to do much else!
I was just curious....have you ever actually MET, interacted with, or befriended a black person? Or do you just know them from tv or something...
@ Jason you sound like a typical South African
Excuse me but there are a lot of whites out their selling drugs and living off welfare. Race has nothing to do with anything. The people who work hard and strive to better themselves get where they want to be. The ones sitting around blaming everyone else for their problems never get anywhere.
@Jason: No worries, you should be able to get away with blaming inbreeding.
so where are the caucasian and hispanic leaders posting articles to inspire their races to evolve more?
i smell a conspiracy LOL
just go cut yourself and the person next to you.... its red i tell you its all red...... yaaay
Pitiful Pitiful Pitiful Pitiful Pitiful
I think she a great opportunity to say That there is a Black middle class that has and will continue to exist. We as black people are not on Welfare unmarried w/ numerous baby daddy's. When FACTS show that the majority individuals on welfare ARE NOT the Minority (Blacks and/or Hispanics) its whites. So as for GOP Presidential runner recent beliefs he decided to say to his ignorant followers, the govt will shut down social programs that are helping his "white" lower-class constiuents. Facts are facts, ignorant beliefs are ignorant beliefs, so get your facts then make a sound decisions/opinions to ingnorant masses.
Any govt dependence is bad, just like drug addiction. Govt $$ makes people weak & dependent.
or maybe its there to assist those unable to assist themselves so yor comment is a complete lie, lets hope your life dosent end in some kinda debilitating injury that leaves you sucking on the government handout.
tell that to the millions of people who would be homeless and out on the street if not for unemployment insurance. Contrary to popular belief there are educated people who actually look for work who are on unemployment. My dad worked for 30 years at the same company and was given the boot. he is college educated and missed maybe 2 days of work in the last 10 years.
They decided they are going to pay somebody half of what he was making, to do the job of 3 people!
But, yeah I guess having millions on the street is a better solution right?
I disagree with your premise. There are times when everyone needs support in one way or another. If we elect to eliminate governmental support for our own citizens, then I strongly encourage our government to stop all foreign aid.
most of what you call govt assistance are programs the person utilizing funded by paying taxes. there are exceptions are there are for everything, like all the corrupt hedge fund managers.
Where is the black middle class? They are stepping on the black lower class, trying to get to the black upper class. Does that sound just about right?
Ok that rings more of truth, but its not just the black its every color.
You have landed on basic economic theory. Every class seeks recognition and status within the next class up. Being White or Black has nothing to do with the theory of economic class struggle.
Stepping on the black lower class? Really. Yawn. Look to the majority if you feel the black lower class is being stepped upon. Besides, there is nothing wrong with striving for success. I've noticed that when someone wishes to improve their lot in the so-called black lower class, it is usually that person's peers that try to keep him/her from attaining a success that would transcend their economic station. Translation: crabs in barrel.
I disagree that the Black Middle class is stepping on the Poor to make it! I grew up poor and I knew that for me to get ahead in this country I had to obtain a college education. I did this by dedicating 11 years of my life in service of this country in the military and have no regrets doing so.
What has hurt the "Poor" in this country regardless of color is that many lack marketable skills to obtain a job! The jobs of manual labor do not pay well and instead of brushing up your skills many complain while others come to this country "Pool" their money and buy and start businesses. I am sick of "US" thinking that you can bounce a basketball, catch a touchdown, hit a homerun, sing or rap our way out of poverty!
We have disdainment towards those try to obtain an education and call them "Sell-out" yet wonder why we are still as a race further behind! Asians, Indians and others come to this country and prosper with only "US" still blaming another for our own downfall. Sorry, but this excuse is getting old and tiresome! If you want to get ahead start investing in yourself!
I'm in the Army. Dedicated my life, time, effort to be told when a GS (I'm now a Reservist) job came up that the cocaine abusing white woman's life was more valuable than mine. Therefore, they went over and under to give her the job I qualified for. But offered me a month of Orders to train her. Didn't care that they were dooming me to die in the streets, for the white preference. I have a G.I. Bill. Can I have money for my books and classes? Because how can I get my G.I bill without getting my classes first. I have no money!!!Don't make the military out as though its the saving grace of the black person. As a black woman, I have never been so humiliated in my life than I have serving my country. You need money to invest in yourself!!! Can't qualify for food stamps. Can't get a job at Kmart or McDonalds. Served my country. When is my country going to serve me? What's wrong with us is we don't help each other. Just like you standing on your podium talking down but not helping a fellow black.
Givemeabreak-you apparently squandered the money you made, opted out of active, and then want to whine about not having a job. Your poor time/money/planning management is what got you into the mess you are in. You apparently haven't gone to the college to get your GI Bill. You would have found out that if you register for your classes, you don't have to pay for them ASAP. And if you start ahead instead of waiting until the last minute, your GI Bill is approved and your classes are saved. There is also the pell grant, the student loan program, work study. So what excuse do you have now? Seems to me you are just a sad excuse wanting a hand out. Success takes work and unfortunately some people just aren't willing to do it.
Love Jones Cohort sounds like the selfish new generation who believes that building a strong family is either impossible or a thing of the past because they are too selfish to understand its importance in the building of their community. Or perhaps they are so lost with what they are being fed in the media that they actually believe what they hear and see, and love money more than anything.
Put God first(if you believe), Value education, work hard, and love, build, and maintain a strong family. Is that not enough to make you happy? Tell me what is more important, if it is not.
This liberal educator just wants to sound hip throwing around fancy big words & phrases. How sad
Tell me what is more important.