On Being Black And Middle Class Analysis

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Taylor Campbell English 1101 Section 41 Dr. Antiwan Walker October 7, 2014 Identity Crisis: What it means to be black and middle class in America In Shelby Steele’s essay “On being black and middle class” he writes, “It has always annoyed me to hear from the mouths of certain arbiters of blackness that middle-class blacks should "reach back" and pull up those blacks less fortunate than they.“ The black middle class has always been categorized as hardworking white-collar members of society sacrificing daily to provide for their families, while also seemingly staying in touch with black culture. In recent times, the need to stay in touch with black culture has diminished, and the need to assimilate into other cultures such as Caucasian,…show more content…
To further elaborate, the show also depicts problems that happen in everyday life such as teen pregnancy, rebellion, as well as their outlooks on the moral compass of today’s society. Unlike other shows in its extremely small category, My Wife and Kids deals with the issue of teen pregnancy and the fact that although as a parent one might may be successful, educated and level headed, ones children will still make their own decisions. This aspect of the show helped to appeal to countless viewers, subsequently portraying the black middle class in a more realistic light much unlike its predecessor The Cosby Show. The shows realistic viewpoints on various topics such as sex, dating, and what it is like raising black children in a middle class neighborhood. More importantly, this helps the black community as well as the nation as a whole that if one takes away the money, the nice cars, the nice house and the education, there is a normal, dysfunctional at times black loving family. Furthermore depicting that the black-middle-class is just like the rest of the…show more content…
To further elaborate, the dissociation between black-middle-class and the rest of America can be better explained through the portrayal of the aforementioned social class. Additionally, illustrating the daily struggles and triumphs of countless black-middle-class-families helps to further depict that, although the world may view them in a different light, they are a just like every other black family in

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