Middle Class Blacks More Optimistic Than Ever

Young blacks more optimistic about racism in America than their elders? Join The Root on June 6 in Washington, D.C., as we investigate the growing generational divide between today's African-American youths and their elders on matters of race. Our multigenerational panel of noted journalists and social analysts will discuss the Black Generation Gap, why it may be growing and what that means for future generations.

Moderated by The Root's managing editor, Joel Dreyfuss, a distinguished panel will explore the generational divide exposed by Ellis Cose in his new book The End of Anger (HarperCollins). The panel includes Cose; Eugene Robinson, political and cultural columnist for the Washington Post; Jamal Simmons, political analyst and TV commentator; Cheryl Contee, co-founder of Jack & Jill Politics; and Erica L. Williams, senior strategist for the Citizen Engagement Lab.

Cose calls this latest generation of middle class Blacks “The Believers,” a term he uses often in his new book, The End of Anger. A Believer is a Black person who has never experienced the problems of a very pointed Jim Crow era. Blacks in the middle class have never seen a world in which people that look like them are outright barred from entering the highest echelons of government or the private sector. To that end, they’ve also started to believe that their career and life prospects—no matter how high they may be—are attainable.

“And this is something that is fundamentally different about the way people—particularly people of color—are viewing the American experience,” says Cose.

One thing worth noting is that almost none of the people Cose interviewed said racism and prejudice in the workplace was over. Nearly all of them agreed that it had softened to the point that they could reach the pinnacle of success if they worked hard.

“People were not saying discrimination has disappeared," Cose told NPR."[But] the kind of discrimination that made it impossible to aspire to rise to a certain level is nowhere anywhere near as heavy as it used to be."

Of course, the key flaw in this research is that it focuses solely on the middle class. Talk to Blacks still living at or below the poverty line—of which there are millions—and you’ll likely get a much different view of the world. One in which you can’t achieve your dreams of going to a good school or holding down a good job. That in mind, one wonders how much being optimistic about the future has to do with race and how much of it has to do with how much money a person has.