The role of the Black Middle Class/ Rich in the Black Community

[ogc163]

The classism that goes on in the black community is really...weird.

For example, you do have the upper class/upper-middle class black people that look down on lower-income blacks, especially those that live in the hood. I can't count how many assumptions people have made about me because I grew up in Detroit.

But then you also have plenty of middle class/upper-middle class black kids that go way out of their way trying to be "hood" and whatnot, I guess because they don't want to be accused of being c00ns/oreos/not black enough. That shyt was an epidemic when I was in college.

And of course you got the people that actually are poor and living in the hood that waste a bunch of their money on expensive clothes, shoes, etc. and try to do everything they can to look like they have more money than they do.


The whole situation is all kinds of fukked up.




And I didn't even get into the whole Africans vs. African-Americans thing.

Out here in NYC its the African-Americans vs. West Indians plus throw in the Black latin americans in the mix...

Most of the Black folks I was cool with were middle class, some blue collar and some white collar. You had the annoying ass suburban middle class black kids who became extra afro-centric after sophomore year, usually after reading Fanon or Malcolm X's autobiography. The cats that just wanted to chill and party and yet were shocked when they were put on academic probation. But my experience with middle class Black students was that ironically they seemed to be more angry and likely to attach racism to situations than the kids who came from the hood. In the video the kid talks about how folks would come at him sideways about not understanding the struggle, in my experience heads would look for some "struggle" when there wasn't one.

 

[tru_m.a.c]

Just out of curiosity, when you talk about the black upper class are you talking about "old money" types like in Our Kind Of People or "new money" people that are actually semi-relevant to the world at large? I'm just thinking about this article in New York a few years back where someone from one of those Martha's Vineyard circles said that Michelle Obama was too ghetto and wasn't elite enough despite being the First Lady of the United States.

great point.....

an income threshold hasn't been defined in this thread

I don't think we're actually going by the definition of middle class/upper class

 

[ogc163]

Just out of curiosity, when you talk about the black upper class are you talking about "old money" types like in Our Kind Of People or "new money" people that are actually semi-relevant to the world at large? I'm just thinking about this article in New York a few years back where someone from one of those Martha's Vineyard circles said that Michelle Obama was too ghetto and wasn't elite enough despite being the First Lady of the United States.

I'm talking about both.

 

[88m3]

sub

 

[Wild self]

Problem is that black folks worship the hood as a badge of honor. Poor whites actually feel ashamed of themselves and get shytted on by the mainstream media cause they "poor white trash." Crack era did give birth of that badge of honor mentality, but it peaked in the early 00s when the street life was glorified and worshipped in the media and that middle class blacks are "lame" or "Carlton Banks." Like, when I was in high school, I knew this dude and his family that had a lot more $$$ than mine own. Dude was beefing, fighting, cursing out teachers, getting suspended constantly, acting all hood...all for acceptance. Shyt baffled me cause he looked up to Beanie Sigel as an inspiration of being "real." Imagine that, throwing away ya life to appeal to the "real" image of black folk?

But thankfully, that is improving. With the hood life being pushed aside in the media in recent years, more black folk are comfortable of being themselves and not a caricatures of an image

 

[tru_m.a.c]

The classism that goes on in the black community is really...weird.

For example, you do have the upper class/upper-middle class black people that look down on lower-income blacks, especially those that live in the hood. I can't count how many assumptions people have made about me because I grew up in Detroit.

But then you also have plenty of middle class/upper-middle class black kids that go way out of their way trying to be "hood" and whatnot, I guess because they don't want to be accused of being c00ns/oreos/not black enough. That shyt was an epidemic when I was in college.

And of course you got the people that actually are poor and living in the hood that waste a bunch of their money on expensive clothes, shoes, etc. and try to do everything they can to look like they have more money than they do.


The whole situation is all kinds of fukked up.


And I didn't even get into the whole Africans vs. African-Americans thing.

great post breh

 

[GoPro]

The only thing the black middle class/wealthy could do to help the community is pay for mandatory parenting classes. Anything other than that is throwing time and money down the drain

 

[lachreyatarbabypits]

I don't know any black people who think like you and are actually at the top. African-Americans give back because there's always been a sort of shared identity and African-Americans have always been defined by those at the bottom. I will always give back because I know where these people are coming from and because every successful community has that mentality. You live in this false world where there isn't a large Jewish network, Cuban, Lebanese, etc. All successful minority or immigrant groups understand individual excellence and shared identity. I'm not saying you any one person anything, but you're doing a disservice to everyone who came before you if you have that mentality. In my humble opinion, it shows a lack of character.

How you do it is one thing. Furthermore, if I'm not mistaken you're still in college. You haven't achieved shyt yet, how are you speaking so authoritatively on how successful black people think? I've chilled with partners at big firms and people at the top corporations and even the most bougie black people feel that they have some duty to pay it forward.

"A lawyer left the hood, he never looked back..." I've always promised myself that I wouldn't be the person Nas was talking about. Because I know somewhere down the line someone looked out for me. Even if I didn't know it. But no one owes any one person on an individual level.

Because the mindset most of the successful black people Ive met given me and Ive peeped it. I see the black people out there asking for people to sign petitions and help out. People who actually try to help out the community. Ive been to these ind of events, and theyre always bone fukking dry. SO why the fukk should I aid people who wont even try to help themselves? If I'm giving back I'm giving to people who truly dont have shyt. I've put more thought in my heart towards going back to Jamaica and helping those people than helpng African Americans because I know they'll appreciate it, need it more, and I just feel a deeper connection tot eh Jamaican community than the African American community. With African Americans I wouldnt give shyt but to the JA community hell yea. Thats real poverty back home. And tbh alot of Jamaicans leave Jamaica and actually dont look back. Most of them come here and pick up the behavior of African Americans and fukk up in some way, but based on my experience, especially as my first post was about African Americans, they not seeing my money. This also raises the question of: why do I HAVE to give back to my community and not to those who need it most? If I'm giving back as a successful black man I'm giving it to WHOEVER needs it. I dont give a fukk if youre black and I'm black. Just because we share that doesnt man shyt to me. I dont care that we're both black. If you broke your leg on the street I will help you no matter what, and thats the reason why this thread is flawed and this mindset is flawed. People are thinking of basically racially dividing unity? Pshh c'mon man. I find myself coming here less and less because most of you still hold these outdated mindsets.

 

[Guess Who]

Problem is that black folks worship the hood as a badge of honor. Poor whites actually feel ashamed of themselves and get shytted on by the mainstream media cause they "poor white trash." Crack era did give birth of that badge of honor mentality, but it peaked in the early 00s when the street life was glorified and worshipped in the media and that middle class blacks are "lame" or "Carlton Banks." Like, when I was in high school, I knew this dude and his family that had a lot more $$$ than mine own. Dude was beefing, fighting, cursing out teachers, getting suspended constantly, acting all hood...all for acceptance. Shyt baffled me cause he looked up to Beanie Sigel as an inspiration of being "real." Imagine that, throwing away ya life to appeal to the "real" image of black folk?

But thankfully, that is improving. With the hood life being pushed aside in the media in recent years, more black folk are comfortable of being themselves and not a caricatures of an image

 

[lachreyatarbabypits]

The classism that goes on in the black community is really...weird.

For example, you do have the upper class/upper-middle class black people that look down on lower-income blacks, especially those that live in the hood. I can't count how many assumptions people have made about me because I grew up in Detroit.

But then you also have plenty of middle class/upper-middle class black kids that go way out of their way trying to be "hood" and whatnot, I guess because they don't want to be accused of being c00ns/oreos/not black enough. That shyt was an epidemic when I was in college.

And of course you got the people that actually are poor and living in the hood that waste a bunch of their money on expensive clothes, shoes, etc. and try to do everything they can to look like they have more money than they do.


The whole situation is all kinds of fukked up.


And I didn't even get into the whole Africans vs. African-Americans thing.

this is the thing I cant stand most. Dudes growing up nice and chill, parents are hard workers, and go to good schools or get good grades, then all of a sudden wanna be gangstas. Then you have the dudes who are fromt eh hood that move into their aunts house and try to bring the hood to a nice neighborhood. This shyt is the most ridiculous thing.

 

[2Quik4UHoes]

The only thing the black middle class/wealthy could do to help the community is pay for mandatory parenting classes. Anything other than that is throwing time and money down the drain

You don't think online courses for ex-cons would be worth the time and money? How bout more daycares for kids so mothers can find jobs, go to school, etc, or more activities for the youth like sports(besides football and basketball), arts, etc so less kids are in the streets and instead are doing something productive and building strong foundations for a bright future.

Gotta kill this notion that the poor are a waste of time and effort. So much good can be done, but America can be a very cynical and individualistic society so the idea of uplifting the community seems foreign.

 

[MeachTheMonster]

I can't believe it's black people that really think like y'all. EVERY race, white people included give back to the poor and try to help each other out. I hear plenty of people complaining about the advantages that white people have. Those advantages were given to them by other white people. We should all give back and help those in need. For black people it should start with your own family or community. It doesn't matter how successful you are, you always have some fukked up family somewhere. If we all reached down and pulled up our own family/communities up eventually there will be real equality. As much as those bougie black folks wanna act like they stand above the less fortunate, in the eyes of the world we ALL stand together.

 

[Yungin]

You don't think online courses for ex-cons would be worth the time and money? How bout more daycares for kids so mothers can find jobs, go to school, etc, or more activities for the youth like sports(besides football and basketball), arts, etc so less kids are in the streets and instead are doing something productive and building strong foundations for a bright future.

Gotta kill this notion that the poor are a waste of time and effort. So much good can be done, but America can be a very cynical and individualistic society so the idea of uplifting the community seems foreign.

 

[DemureNatural]

I dont think they have an obligation beyond their family because the question is how exactly should you help. The hood is economically depressed and smart business people dont start high quality business in economically depressed areas. If I were to start a high quality school in the hood for residents who is gonna pay for it? Look at Derrick Coleman he started that Black mall in Detroit to try and revive the hood economically and ended up bankrupt after career in which he earned over 100 million bucks.

Did he go bankrupt as a result of building the mall or were there other factors (lavish spending, money mismanagement, terrible accounting, etc)?

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

I think it is important to help

But I think its also important to realize the impact of the choices people make, as well as the difficulty of changing culture. I forget who it was, Alpo? Who every Camron was supposed to be in PIF... he saw how other people lived. Jay saw how other people lived outside the hood. But they both still sold crack

Dealing w/kids is tough because they think they know it all...a lot of parents can't reach their own kids, how can someone from the outside do it?

You couple that w/the breakdown of the family structure, the culture of attn whoring, the short term mentality and the lack of economic opportunity... that shyt is a hell of an upward struggle. Some rich black folks (who a lot of times might be seen as high + mighty outsiders) can't do all that, its gotta be them, the parents, the teachers, the police, the community leaders, everyone the kids come in contact with. And even still, a lot of the kids who need the help the most are not involved in any programs where a mentor could reach them... at least maybe not till they are in the penal system, at which point its usually too late

Not to say rich black folks shouldnt help, or that its completely pointless, but it sounds like the expectation is on them to and fix the hood on their own which is totally unreasonable