class conflict

I found Sugrue’s chapter “Class Status, and Residence: The Changing Geography of Black Detroit” an important addition to his overall study. The subchapter “Status and Conflict” at the end of the chapter particularly stands out. He points out that many black newcomers to formerly all-white neighborhoods “sought to disprove negative racial stereotypes, and did so by distancing themselves physically and symbolically from the African American poor” (205). This is a significant point and worth further investigation. While a detailed study of the tendency for many middle- and upper-class African Americans to distance themselves from the “lower classes” falls largely outside of Sugrue’s study, I feel he could have expanded his discussion a bit. The class conflict that Sugrue mentions is still a contentious topic today. Michael Eric Dyson’s Is Bill Cosby Right? :Or has the Black Middle Class Lost its Mind candidly deals with this issue as it manifests itself today. Dyson views concentrated poverty and institutional racism as major factors stifling poor African Americans’ chances for upward mobility, rather than some ostensible moral or character based flaws within the poor black community. Just as many whites within Sugrue’s text conveniently overlook the obstacles facing poor African Americans—whether government sponsored discrimination or community outrage over a “black invasion”—many upwardly mobile African Americans unfortunately buy into popular stereotypes of poor blacks. Sugrue does well to point out, however, that many middle- and upper-class African Americans stuck with their communities.