Niya's Blog
Niya Savage
Professor Ventura
Final paper
English 285
Is Economic Class the barrier that keeps Black Women Divided?
Many may argue that we live in a classless society where men and women live together in complete equality. These very same people might also think that there is no longer a class system that affects our lives in such a way that we are shaped by our economical state from which one’s life experiences derive. These people may live in this utopia world, but for the majority of Americans, class still matters, especially in the African American community. It is easy for one to see that there are differences between African Americans that are closely related to social class that keeps our community divided, but many don’t understand why. In today’s society this is a major issue, especially when dealing with African American women. Therefore, it is easy for one to believe that Contemporary black woman’s ideas of womanhood or sister hood along with social class status shapes the differences that keep black woman from fully uniting and promotes internalized hatred for other black women. By analyzing African American women of the world along with a closer view of the young women at Spelman College, one is able to understand how class still matters and works in many ways in separating the black community.
First off, one must understand the importance of class in today’s society and who they consist of in order to understand why it causes animosity between black women. According to- since 1968 there have been two emerging classes from the Black Community, the working and the black middle class. As is stated in the book entitled Race, Class and Gender by Margaret L. Anderson and Patricia Hill Collins “Social class is not just a matter of material difference; it is a pattern of domination in which some groups have more power than the others”. Although this statement is directed to issues of class surrounding all races, this too can be applied to the separation between African American Women.
The Differences of the Black Social Classes
One could take a glance at the studies on the people of the Black middle class and find that they are often times overlooked and grouped together with the black working class, which in many cases, inhibits their mobility or attempt to progress. Overall in America today, as stated in the Article by Mary Patillo- McCoy entitled Black Picket Fences, The black middle class often face the same hardships as the black working class, but within the African American community, there is a major gap that divides the two groups. The black middle class is defined as the men and woman that are living “comfortably”. Although it is hard to know who or what defines the black middle class, most believe that it is made up of families that are in the middle between upper class or the wealthy and the working class or poor. They are exposed to all different aspects of life, which makes their experiences different and they want to identify with the higher class but are mostly grouped with the working class. They are often the class that is overlooked and there are very few studies and scholarly research focusing on them. It is said that they are often grouped with the working class so in some cases inherit the misfortunes that come along with this particular economic condition. On the same not, they are also exposed to the higher more extravagant way of living, straggling the fence between the lower class and upper class. Even if a child grows up in middle class household and as they grow into adulthood, their income is less then middle class, they are still not necessarily considered working class because they still have the language, behavior, and educational background of the middle class which they can always depend on.
The lower class on the other hand has been the center for many studies and research. The news and other forms of media are constantly covering the event that take place in these rural areas. The crime, including the violence and drug trafficking is what and outsider usually understands about these areas because that is what is shown on the television screen and in newspaper articles. “Welfare debates, discussions of crime and safety, urban policy initiatives, and even the cultural uproar over things like rap music are focused on the situation of poor African Americans”(McCoy) However the working class is made up, for the most part, of hard working people that exhibit the model on how to survive in a class based society. They are forced to utilize what is accessible and are often at a disadvantage because they are not offered very much in the areas of education, positive role models, productive activities and jobs. “Class affects what we perceive as and what we have available to us as choices”(Sklar). With that being said, people of the working class are often limited and seen by others as generational. Meaning that there is a cycle of events that go in a working class family, such as a mother that grows up in a rural area learns morals and a way of life that may be different than people in all the other social classes, she than teaches her child these same ideas and beliefs which keep on getting passed down from generation to generation.
One might ask the questions, what does these differences among class systems relate to the topic that class contributes to the tension between African American Women? The view of the black class system creates stereotypes that contribute to the class segregation among black women because their class helps shape their life experiences, therefore defining who they are. Therefore, women are all different because of their class status. One’s views on life, how they adapt to certain situations, how quickly they deal with traumatic event, how they interact with people or not interact with people are all a result of a person’s class and the status of their economic background. A person is defined by their surroundings, if they live in a poor rural area, they are going to know a lot of poor rural people that have the mindset of survival opposed to the middle class where the people have different issues that are important to them. This creates tension among black women because it is hard for them to relate to one another because of their economic status, which is in direct relation to their social space.
Class System as Spelman College
In a book written by Katrina Bell named Embracing Sisterhood: Class, Identity and Contemporary Black Women, the author examines the lives of over 80 young black women and interviews them on personal aspects of their lives, all in the attempt to find a common bond between them. In the book the author tries to identify where black womanhood and sisterhood, merge with social class. It shows that Black women are aware of the diversity in which class can cause between them and are complacent in the growing division among them.
Women all over the world and particularly at Spelman College where there is a whole array of Black women from all different socioeconomic backgrounds, prove everyday that class still matters even among people that share the same racial background. At Spelman College, the officials promote sisterhood and what it means to be a strong black woman with and education. They teach their students how to be sisterly and united with their fellow Spelman sisters. So one might wonder why is it that they are yet so divided? At this college, class systems are broken up into upper class, mainly middle class and working class backgrounds. Women click together and form friendships based on what they have in common and how they relate to one another. Though this may not always be the case, many women choose friends that have they are in the same social class as themselves.
In order for Society to rid black America of this issue, we must first understand that we can learn from one another and be more effective in the world as a whole instead of individually. Black Women need to remember that they are all essentially Black women first before they incorporate what they learned from their surroundings or economic background. If Black Women don’t utilize their differences and understand that their concepts of how to be a woman or what womanhood is are different due to class status, they will never understand that sisterhood is beneficial and what effects it has on all black women in making them stronger leaders, teachers and better people.
Professor Ventura
Final paper
English 285
Is Economic Class the barrier that keeps Black Women Divided?
Many may argue that we live in a classless society where men and women live together in complete equality. These very same people might also think that there is no longer a class system that affects our lives in such a way that we are shaped by our economical state from which one’s life experiences derive. These people may live in this utopia world, but for the majority of Americans, class still matters, especially in the African American community. It is easy for one to see that there are differences between African Americans that are closely related to social class that keeps our community divided, but many don’t understand why. In today’s society this is a major issue, especially when dealing with African American women. Therefore, it is easy for one to believe that Contemporary black woman’s ideas of womanhood or sister hood along with social class status shapes the differences that keep black woman from fully uniting and promotes internalized hatred for other black women. By analyzing African American women of the world along with a closer view of the young women at Spelman College, one is able to understand how class still matters and works in many ways in separating the black community.
First off, one must understand the importance of class in today’s society and who they consist of in order to understand why it causes animosity between black women. According to- since 1968 there have been two emerging classes from the Black Community, the working and the black middle class. As is stated in the book entitled Race, Class and Gender by Margaret L. Anderson and Patricia Hill Collins “Social class is not just a matter of material difference; it is a pattern of domination in which some groups have more power than the others”. Although this statement is directed to issues of class surrounding all races, this too can be applied to the separation between African American Women.
The Differences of the Black Social Classes
One could take a glance at the studies on the people of the Black middle class and find that they are often times overlooked and grouped together with the black working class, which in many cases, inhibits their mobility or attempt to progress. Overall in America today, as stated in the Article by Mary Patillo- McCoy entitled Black Picket Fences, The black middle class often face the same hardships as the black working class, but within the African American community, there is a major gap that divides the two groups. The black middle class is defined as the men and woman that are living “comfortably”. Although it is hard to know who or what defines the black middle class, most believe that it is made up of families that are in the middle between upper class or the wealthy and the working class or poor. They are exposed to all different aspects of life, which makes their experiences different and they want to identify with the higher class but are mostly grouped with the working class. They are often the class that is overlooked and there are very few studies and scholarly research focusing on them. It is said that they are often grouped with the working class so in some cases inherit the misfortunes that come along with this particular economic condition. On the same not, they are also exposed to the higher more extravagant way of living, straggling the fence between the lower class and upper class. Even if a child grows up in middle class household and as they grow into adulthood, their income is less then middle class, they are still not necessarily considered working class because they still have the language, behavior, and educational background of the middle class which they can always depend on.
The lower class on the other hand has been the center for many studies and research. The news and other forms of media are constantly covering the event that take place in these rural areas. The crime, including the violence and drug trafficking is what and outsider usually understands about these areas because that is what is shown on the television screen and in newspaper articles. “Welfare debates, discussions of crime and safety, urban policy initiatives, and even the cultural uproar over things like rap music are focused on the situation of poor African Americans”(McCoy) However the working class is made up, for the most part, of hard working people that exhibit the model on how to survive in a class based society. They are forced to utilize what is accessible and are often at a disadvantage because they are not offered very much in the areas of education, positive role models, productive activities and jobs. “Class affects what we perceive as and what we have available to us as choices”(Sklar). With that being said, people of the working class are often limited and seen by others as generational. Meaning that there is a cycle of events that go in a working class family, such as a mother that grows up in a rural area learns morals and a way of life that may be different than people in all the other social classes, she than teaches her child these same ideas and beliefs which keep on getting passed down from generation to generation.
One might ask the questions, what does these differences among class systems relate to the topic that class contributes to the tension between African American Women? The view of the black class system creates stereotypes that contribute to the class segregation among black women because their class helps shape their life experiences, therefore defining who they are. Therefore, women are all different because of their class status. One’s views on life, how they adapt to certain situations, how quickly they deal with traumatic event, how they interact with people or not interact with people are all a result of a person’s class and the status of their economic background. A person is defined by their surroundings, if they live in a poor rural area, they are going to know a lot of poor rural people that have the mindset of survival opposed to the middle class where the people have different issues that are important to them. This creates tension among black women because it is hard for them to relate to one another because of their economic status, which is in direct relation to their social space.
Class System as Spelman College
In a book written by Katrina Bell named Embracing Sisterhood: Class, Identity and Contemporary Black Women, the author examines the lives of over 80 young black women and interviews them on personal aspects of their lives, all in the attempt to find a common bond between them. In the book the author tries to identify where black womanhood and sisterhood, merge with social class. It shows that Black women are aware of the diversity in which class can cause between them and are complacent in the growing division among them.
Women all over the world and particularly at Spelman College where there is a whole array of Black women from all different socioeconomic backgrounds, prove everyday that class still matters even among people that share the same racial background. At Spelman College, the officials promote sisterhood and what it means to be a strong black woman with and education. They teach their students how to be sisterly and united with their fellow Spelman sisters. So one might wonder why is it that they are yet so divided? At this college, class systems are broken up into upper class, mainly middle class and working class backgrounds. Women click together and form friendships based on what they have in common and how they relate to one another. Though this may not always be the case, many women choose friends that have they are in the same social class as themselves.
In order for Society to rid black America of this issue, we must first understand that we can learn from one another and be more effective in the world as a whole instead of individually. Black Women need to remember that they are all essentially Black women first before they incorporate what they learned from their surroundings or economic background. If Black Women don’t utilize their differences and understand that their concepts of how to be a woman or what womanhood is are different due to class status, they will never understand that sisterhood is beneficial and what effects it has on all black women in making them stronger leaders, teachers and better people.
Bibliography
Bell- Mcdonald, Katrina. Embracing Sisterhood: Class, Identity and Contemporary Black Women. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Inc, 2006.
Fussell, Paul. Class. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983.
Gates, Henry L. "Bridging the Black Class Divide." America Behind Color Lines (2004)..
Horton, Hayward D., and Beverlyn Allen. "Lost in the Storm: the Sociology of the Black Working Class." American Sociological Review 65.1 (2000). JSTOR.
Jackson, John. “Harlemworld: Doing Race and Class in Contemporary Black America”. University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Langston, Donna. "Class and Inequality." Race, Class and Gender. Ed. Margaret L. Anderson and Patricia Hill Collins. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007. 118+.
McCoy Patillo, Mary. Black Picket Fences: Privilege and Peril among the Black Middle Class. Chicago, IL : University of Chicago Press, 1999.
Nealon, Jeffrey, and Susan ` S. Giroux. The Theory Toolbox: Critical Concepts for Humaities, Arts and Social Class. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. 157-188.
Bell- Mcdonald, Katrina. Embracing Sisterhood: Class, Identity and Contemporary Black Women. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Inc, 2006.
Fussell, Paul. Class. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983.
Gates, Henry L. "Bridging the Black Class Divide." America Behind Color Lines (2004).
Horton, Hayward D., and Beverlyn Allen. "Lost in the Storm: the Sociology of the Black Working Class." American Sociological Review 65.1 (2000). JSTOR.
Jackson, John. “Harlemworld: Doing Race and Class in Contemporary Black America”. University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Langston, Donna. "Class and Inequality." Race, Class and Gender. Ed. Margaret L. Anderson and Patricia Hill Collins. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007. 118+.
McCoy Patillo, Mary. Black Picket Fences: Privilege and Peril among the Black Middle Class. Chicago, IL : University of Chicago Press, 1999.
Nealon, Jeffrey, and Susan ` S. Giroux. The Theory Toolbox: Critical Concepts for Humaities, Arts and Social Class. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. 157-188.
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