Middle Class, Black

Origins of a Black Middle Class

The black middle class began to appreciate significantly after the 1960s. Prior to that time, most blacks lived in the rural South, and because of segregation and geographic factors, they had few opportunities to gain wealth or to advance economically. In 1960, for example, only 20 percent of African Americans graduated from high school, compared to 45 percent of white Americans. Those who did graduate had limited access to universities; most attended historically black colleges and universities. Most graduate and professional schools excluded African Americans. Some blacks did go on to earn advanced degrees, but in proportions much lower than whites.

Most African American professionals became ministers, teachers, and small businesspeople. A few became doctors, pharmacists, and lawyers. Overall, however, few white-collar opportunities existed for black professionals, who were mostly relegated to serving the black community. African Americans who worked in the mainstream white community generally [Page 534]labored in unskilled service jobs and were often cooks or busboys. African American women worked mostly as domestic servants. African Americans only very rarely worked as clerks or salespeople.

Before World War II, most blacks lived in rural areas, where many picked cotton by hand. But from the 1940s to the 1960s, cotton picking became mostly automated, driving black sharecroppers and tenant farmers to look for work in urban areas across the United States. Many found jobs in armament factories and other booming wartime industries, allowing them to make more money and gain access to a more middle-class lifestyle.

The civil rights movement also made it possible for a black middle class to develop by leading to the desegregation of the military, removing barriers to graduate and postgraduate education, and officially ending racial segregation.

A variety of legislative actions paved the way for a black middle class, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination in public places, transportation, education, and employment. Another law, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, gave African Americans more political power, and the Housing Act of 1968 banned discrimination in the sale and rental of homes and apartments. Over time, these new opportunities in schooling, housing, and employment made it possible for a black middle class to develop and grow.

By 1980, more than half of all African American children graduated from high school, and by 1999, that number climbed to 86 percent. Moreover, about one-third of black high school graduates attended college at the end of the century. Because of these increased educational attainments, African Americans currently work at a wide range of jobs at all positions, including management. Many also have been able to find middle-income jobs in city, state, and federal governments at a rate double that of whites.

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