More than 120 years ago, W. E. B. DuBois used innovative, sophisticated research methods to document and describe the lived experiences of Black Americans in Philadelphia and challenge the racist trope that poverty may be tied to race. His work has been followed by scholars of all disciplines who have studied a range of issues and experiences affecting Black Americans, including education, employment, reparations, residential segregation, mass incarceration, anti-Black discrimination, disinvestment and underdevelopment, racial wealth disparities, racial stratification and hierarchy, and mental and physical health.

Even with such a rich history of scholarship on the Black experience, many contemporary research products still speak of race and poverty as intrinsically connected, leading much of policy attention on Black Americans to also focus on individuals and families who are economically disadvantaged. Without robust research on the Black middle class, there remains a dearth of policy attention, intervention, and action to support all Black Americans and close long-standing wealth gaps.

Why should we focus on the Black middle class?

Although the common term “middle class” is generally understood within specific contexts, there is no consistent definition, nor is there consensus among researchers on who to consider middle class. A 2018 study reviewing 12 income-based measures of the middle class found that a household with an annual income between $13,000 and $230,000 could constitute the middle class, depending on the definition.

Today, “middle class” generally refers to people with higher levels of formal education or postsecondary degrees, white-collar workers, middle-income earners, and those who own certain assets, like a home. Though homeownership is sometimes considered, wealth-based definitions are less common.

In any case, these traditional markers of middle-class status often don’t apply to Black families in the same way or aren’t enough to secure financial well-being. Education, for example, has historically been conceptualized as “the great equalizer” (PDF). Still, as Black Americans have made progress on increasing educational attainment, including bachelor’s and advanced degrees, they continue to experience discrimination and economic hardships even if they manage to secure more prestigious occupations and higher incomes relative to other Black people.

Another common indicator, wealth, has always been precarious for Black families in America, which is in direct contrast to the white middle class. For white Americans, intentional government policies propelled and built what became the modern (white) middle class by privileging the wealth accumulation and social status of predominantly white occupations and educational institutions, coupled with gains from organized labor in building jobs that enabled entry into and staying in the middle class.

These developments were parallel to an underdevelopment of Black America through legal segregation, redlining, continued mob violence that destroyed Black property and communities, ongoing labor market discrimination, and the exclusion of Black people from specific policies, like the GI Bill. Beginning in the 1970s, globalization in manufacturing ensured that the labor pool for domestic production, a key pathway to wealth for those who migrated north, shrank. At the same time, the share of union workers and federal government workers, other pathways to the middle class for Black families, declined. This phenomenon limited labor income in the US but increased capital income as stock valuations grew, leading to a massive redistribution of wealth from labor to capital owners, who were most often white Americans. 

This history created economic circumstances that meant Black professional families experienced substantial losses in wealth after the Great Recession and entered the COVID-19 pandemic with less financial security than their white counterparts. In fact, white working-class families “had overwhelmingly middle-class levels of wealth—and were better positioned for the economic uncertainty the pandemic brought.” This racial wealth inequality and economic recovery, coupled with rising inflation; mortgage rates at the highest levels since 2000; a housing affordability crisis for homeowners and renters; and a student debt crisis, especially among Black Americans, indicate there’s cause for concern for middle-class American families, particularly the Black middle class.

Public perception and harms caused to middle-class Black Americans

The lack of political attention and policy intervention directed toward the Black middle class has harmed Black families’ ability to thrive—economically, socially, and psychologically. Research and policy continue to perpetuate racist stereotypes, including the notion that Black families don’t save enough or engage in conspicuous consumption, all of which has been disproven. Moreover, efforts to close racial wealth gaps have historically been poorly targeted and lack an explicit focus on wealth building for middle-class families.

Although there have been worthwhile efforts to help build modest savings among families with low incomes and to increase asset limits on safety net programs to support, these interventions will not accelerate wealth creation significantly enough to build lasting wealth among economically disadvantaged populations, nor will they help close racial wealth gaps by accelerating wealth creation among the Black middle class. To support Black middle-class families and help Black individuals and families build substantial wealth, policies and practices can support the wealth accumulation of Black middle-class families so they can pass down their wealth to future generations, which research shows has been hindered by external structural barriers and economic shocks.

To inform these potential policies and practices, as well as address the lack of evidence and policy attention on the financial experiences of Black middle-class families, we have created the Black Family Thriving Initiative and are studying the intersection of the Black middle class and wealth. Our study has collected primary data from Black middle-class people living in three US cities (Baltimore, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; and Charlotte, North Carolina). This report will build on previous studies on the financial security of Black individuals and families and seeks to explain the role of wealth in the lives of middle-class Black Americans.

For policymakers in the US to work to close long-standing racial wealth gaps, studies like these can truly shine a light on the Black middle class and surface best practices to ensure these families can thrive.