Word: underclass
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...most sensitive issues for the black middle class is its relationship to the ghetto poor. University of Chicago sociologist William Julius Wilson has elaborated a persuasive theory suggesting that the worsening status of the underclass is inextricably tied to the flight from the inner city of most of its upwardly mobile black population. Its departure not only deprived poor youngsters of successful role models but also knocked the props from under churches, schools and other neighborhood institutions that provided stability and support for the impoverished. Middle-class flight, together with economic shifts that have resulted in a dearth...
Though they may sympathize with the tragedy of the underclass, many middle- class blacks are not prepared to remain inside the ghetto. They point out that they have worked hard to spare themselves and their families deprivation. Typical is Richard Parsons, president of the Dime Savings Bank in New York City. "Why should I live in Harlem?" asks Parsons, who resides in a wealthy Westchester County, N.Y., suburb. "If given a choice between unsafe streets and poor schools on the one hand, and peace and quiet and quality schools on the other, who wouldn't pick the best neighborhood...
Nevertheless, the decline of the underclass imposes a psychological burden, in part because whites remain far too willing to associate all blacks with welfare dependency, crime and broken families. Moreover, many middle-class blacks feel personally guilty about the unpromising prospects of poorer blacks. That may be the most unfair burden of all, since the black middle class by itself does not have nearly enough resources to lift the underclass into the mainstream. Patricia Grayson speaks for many affluent blacks when she observes, "One person can do only so much. I think it's unfair for people...
...truth is that all of the nation should feel ashamed and enraged by the sorry condition of the underclass. Its misery in the midst of an affluent society is a disgrace. While the growth and strength of the black middle class prove that the U.S. has gone far to untangle its racial conundrum, racism remains at the top of a long list of unsolved national problems. The success of middle-class blacks is mainly the product of their own hard work and tenacity. But it would not have occurred without the national consensus, embodied in civil rights legislation, to dismantle...
...life-styles rival those of their white counterparts, middle-class blacks remain in some ways second-class citizens. Even with the passage of civil rights laws, a color barrier still exists where blacks live and work. Nor has their own affluence resolved ambiguous feelings about the plight of the underclass. -- For black managers the toughest challenge is learning to be the boss. See LIVING...