Preview

Black and White Upper Classes

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1264 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Black and White Upper Classes
Comparison of Black and White Upper Classes

From the start, there have always seem to been a contrast in differences between the upper white class and the upper black class. Beginning from centuries ago and still to this day, black and white upper class has been through many transformations and been placed into various status groups. These lifestyles that each group were living, were determined by their wealth, education, their occupation, and families background. Past decades there has always been a difference in status between how the upper white class and upper black class stood together. As these parents also wanted to make sure their children were understanding about their past and having many standards to fulfill. Between the black and white upper classes, there have been many assessments about how each group obtained and maintained their living standards. When it comes to looking at the historical origins of the nations white upper class with the origins of the black upper class, it gives depth to understanding the social classes during the late 1800’s till today. There was a transformation between both white upper class and black upper class. White upper class begun to transform from before and after the civil war. The white upper class was based upon old family fortunes, and the wealth and prestige that were in correspondence. Post-civil war, it was more national know of the prominent families that were upper class. This was based on the quick shift of their accumulation of wealth, and still pertaining wealth and prestige of old families. With new funds of the old prestige, there were a few functions that white upper class men became a part of. Their admissions into prep school meant acceptance into the upper-class status, allowing students to become prepared for upper-class social community. Besides prep school, the metropolitan men’s club was another function that was for white upper class society. The men’s club provided important meetings for

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Many of the problems now and in time have been the product of someone stereotyping someone else for being “different” than they are. It can be based off the pigmentation of one’s skin, the religious differences between people, but more often than not, it is because of the class a person falls into economically. Class is a system that distinguishes people by the amount of money a person makes, or that is what class is supposed to be. We often see the upper-class portrayed as educated, clean, and powerful people as opposed to the lower-class who are seen as dirty, lazy, and powerless individuals. The way the media stereotypes the economic classes makes a class seem like a culture instead of an economic standing. In many cases, us individuals allow those stereotypes to become who we are.…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Social Class in America

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages

    America is a complex and diverse web of individuals marked by social stratification, a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy (Macionis, 2011, p.204). The film People Like Us: Social Class in America discusses the class system, social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement, which the American people use to define others (Macionis, 2011, p.206). It explores the many variables that contribute to the determination of a person’s class; such as, ancestry, education, and money. Ancestry will be a main focus because it has such a strong influence on the class system of today. The film provided an informative and entertaining basis for understanding inequality within our nation.…

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    society as elites and upper class, as black people and every other group of people are…

    • 1618 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    | The number of middle-class black families in the United States has been increasing, but one critical aspect that distinguishes them from middle-class white families is their…

    • 1311 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this Tim Wise discusses how the so called white privilege came about in the United States and how it was a big joke. He talks about how especially back during the Civil War that the world was off balance. White people were clearly more privileged and they may not have realized it until slavery came about. He mentions that the middle class people were fooled by those of the Elite class. The Elite class made them feel as though they were more important than there servants, which were normally African Americans, even though, the Elite did not care what everyone thought, they just wanted to stay on top. They felt that to stay on top they must create a class system. Elite was better than the Middle and Lower class, the Middle class was better than the Lower class, and if you were in the lower class you were nothing. Whites tended to be in both the Elite class and the Middle class while the African Americans fell in the Lower class, thus creating privilege.…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    According to the perspective of E. Franklin Frazier, the “Black Bourgeoisie played an important role among American Negros for decades. Frazier’s study led him to the significant of “Negro Business” and its impact on the black middle class. Education was a major social factor responsible for emergence of the Black bourgeoisie.…

    • 1639 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    we see this in history when slavery was practiced. Being seen as an inferior race , these people experienced intersectional oppression and discrimination on many levels. First they were victims of racism where they were outcasted and seen us inferior to the white race. Scientific research were used to justified this acts of oppression. Secondly they were paid no wages for the amount of labor they do. They worked day and night sometimes without proper meals. This prevented from having any chance of building wealth. For a capitalist country who desires labor with zero dollars in return this was their greatest success, however we know that this created a setback for the African American communities. According to the article African Americans are still in concentrated neighborhood with high poverty and still lack full access to decent housing reports nearly half (45 percent) of poor black children live in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty. It also talks about the greatest contributor to the poverty is the inequality income. In this case we see how race intersects with class. The lack of distribution of wealth creates inequality for people of…

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Eth125 Racial Society

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages

    * Write a 150- to 300-word summary of the economic, social, and political standings of that group. Use additional resources if necessary, from the University Library or your textbooks. Provide citations for all the sources you use. Based on a 2000 Census, Income for whites are between $25,000-$30,000. Income for Hispanics is less than $15,000. Income for blacks is $20,000-$25,000. According to Thomas Segrone, a black family earning $50,000 in income is less likely to receive an inheritance, own their own home, and more likely to have more debt than a white family making the same income. Middle income black families are more likely to have lived in poverty in the past than white families of the middle class. Blacks have been more likely to live in poverty, crime and receive lower health care. African Americans were known to be social with their creations and inventions way before it was known. Their skills and inventions were passed on. They played roles with politics as well. After the civil war, blacks considered themselves republicans. It was the republicans along with Abraham Lincoln that started the abolitionists.…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The article supports Michaels belief and discusses benchmark statistics that do not show an increase, but a decrease of economic and social classes dating back to the “height of Jim Crow [laws]”. (Michaels, 236) The article provides statics that prove that the poverty level is not the issue, but the rich getting richer is. When the elite of American society is controlling over half of the nation’s wealth, Americans should be alarmed themselves and this article tries to provide a warning or to serve as an educational piece to those who might actually be interested in their social and economic standing. The article has even discussed the educational aspect of the issues as well. Without education, the population stays ignorant and unable to find the way to upper level educational opportunities. Getting into Harvard and Yale are not what part of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 is completely about. (Michaels, 237) Michaels has quoted Dr. Martin Luther King in the article as having knowledge of the real issues of…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Negroland

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As Jefferson expressed, there has always been an elite black class. So, why hasn’t the African American community improved? Why are we still having racial inequality issues? The reason behind our lack of success stems from the talented tenth never showing any initiative to help other black people They didn’t want to help black people then in 1947 and they don’t want to help other black people now. For the elite class to hold on to the little privilege they possess, they refuse to identify with most African Americans. They must work harder for what they own, and to rise the ladder of success in this Eurocentric world, they must strip away their blackness to gain acceptance. Why do young girls relax their hair? why are light skins preferred over darker skins? The elevation of classes remains so important, and to keep that importance, black elites commit maintaining their status by not affiliating themselves with blackness.…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although, one’s gender or race is not taken in count, social class has always part of America. One of biggest factors where one is placed in the social status is how wealthy or poor one is. For example, many rich people do not want to pay taxes so that their money goes to the poor who they think are poor because they are lazy and do not work. But, the truth is that the rich in America easily have access to opportunities and rights that the poor do not have. It is an ongoing battle the rich blame the poor and the poor blame the rich. However, in America the rich have the most power so the rich win the…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    There is discrimination when it comes to race and class. Though most of the United States population believes that the gap between the rich and the poor has reduced, the treatment given to both group is quite different. The view of the black and Hispanic community is very different from the White about police practices. The rich who live in highly respected estates are always hostile towards when it comes to dealing with the…

    • 3484 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Moreover, the differences expanded exponentially because of the wealth cash crops brought to landowners who strived to create political and social standing in a new world. For example, South Carolina became the wealthiest colony in North America because of their cash crop, rice. Rich whites in South Carolina were richer than anywhere else in the colonies and this was mainly because of the labor of slaves. These cash crops fundamentally contributed to the economy and commerce of the colonies. With all this wealth, people gathered political and social standing. Everyone’s understood status in the colonies formed groups that intertwined. Free blacks formed family communities with other free blacks; while patron-client relationships involved almost…

    • 192 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    White Privilege In Society

    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages

    For many decades racism has become a major issue that has affected many people in negative ways. Many people may not realize the notion of racism and how big of a problem it is within our society today, because of the assumptions that we make on each other. From previous generations, to now racism has affected whites and blacks in many ways. Many ways such as income, jobs, crime rates, education and more. Privileges towards whites has affected blacks in many ways. Within society today whites are showered more with many privileges than what blacks are. In the following paper I will argue the invisibility amongst blacks and how the visibility of whites is always spoken upon society. Privilege is important because it shows the positive advantages…

    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    * Socializing institutions (Private Prep Schools, Fraternities, Private Clubs, Debutante Balls) are established so from Birth to Death the upper class is separated from other classes.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays