Given that virtually every discussion that takes place concerning African Americans invariably goes “ghetto”-that is to say, obsessively focuses on the Black “underclass”-I thought we’d try something different today.
I want us to conduct a conversation about African Americans, that does NOT in any way, references said “underclass”. Black America is a rich and varied place, where most of its inhabitants are NOT “underclass”. In fact, most Black folk today are at the very least working class, if not middle class and above.
So, let’s see what we can do here, shall we? Here are the rules:
1. You are free to discuss Black folk in any way you wish, but NO references to “underclass”, “ghetto”, etc, Black folk
2. ANY such offending references will be deleted
3. Question: WHY do we spend so little time discussing the rest of Black America? Why hasn’t the Black middle class garnered the same attention and focus and interest from sociologists etc, as their poorer/underclass brethren? For more on this point, please see Northwestern U scholar May Pattillo.
Readers of my blog will know well my tendency to discuss other aspects of Black American society; I am often quite critical of certain classes of said society, for what I see as their failure in some cases, and outright collusion in others, to improve the Black society as a whole. Feel free to make of that what you will and comment upon it here in this thread.
OK, the floor’s open! And I warn all knuckleheads: please do not try me. My delete button finger is quite itchy today…
Comment & reply (within the lines!), holla…
The Obsidian
