The Colour of Class
The educational strategies of the Black middle classes
- 202 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
The Colour of Class
The educational strategies of the Black middle classes
About This Book
How do race and class intersect to shape the identities and experiences of Black middle-class parents and their children? What are Black middle-class parents' strategies for supporting their children through school? What role do the educational histories of Black middle-class parents play in their decision-making about their children's education?
There is now an extensive body of research on the educational strategies of the white middle classes but a silence exists around the emergence of the Black middle classes and their experiences, priorities, and actions in relation to education. This book focuses on middle-class families of Black Caribbean heritage.
Drawing on rich qualitative data from nearly 80 in-depth interviews with Black Caribbean middle-class parents, the internationally renowned contributors reveal how these parents attempt to navigate their children successfully through the school system, and defend them against low expectations and other manifestations of discrimination. Chapters identify when, how and to what extent parents deploy the financial, cultural and social resources available to them as professional, middle class individuals in support of their children's academic success and emotional well-being. The book sheds light on the complex, and relatively neglected relations, between race, social class and education, and in addition, poses wider questions about the experiences of social mobility, and the intersection of race and class in forming the identity of the parents and their children.
The Colour of Class: The educational strategies of the Black middle classes will appeal to undergraduates and postgraduates on education, sociology and social policy courses, as well as academics with an interest in Critical Race Theory and Bourdieu.
The Colour of Class was awarded 2nd prize by the Society for Educational Studies: Book Prize 2016.
Frequently asked questions
Information
1 Race, class status and identification
Introduction
Black identity among the Black middle classes
ā¦ recently a friend and I went to see a Chris Ofili exhibition and I recall that (ā¦) we really enjoyed it. (ā¦) we were sitting down having a conversation about it, laughing because the White people were walking around looking very serious (ā¦) we were laughing saying that we thought they didnāt understand it and a Black woman was there on her own and she overheard the conversation [we were having] and she joined in because she said she thought the same as well (ā¦) We were just discussing various things; lots of things we were picking out whereas we thought they [White people] were actually passing through quite quickly.
ā¦ although my taste in music is pretty eclectic ā it is very heavily dominated by Black music. I like Black humour and so on. I am married to a Black woman; that is very important to me [laughter] (ā¦) in terms of empathy and a common language, shared experience, common frame of reference. Someone who understands what I am talking about instantly. Those things are very important.
That is not even in the equation. What for me ā¦ for nearly everything that I do ā¦ is āhave I got the best of x? (ā¦) race is not a big one for me at all other than as I said, I like to think that [Iām] a good example of a person, and Iām also a good positive Black example, and probably in that order, but I donāt see any of that as being the mirror of [who I am]. I just think I am who I am and just move on with it. Iāve been in lots and lots of situations where I havenāt even noticed that Iām the only Black person there (ā¦). Itās not something that I think [that] āthereās loads of Black people or loads of White peopleā, itās just ādo I like itā? If I go to a football match sometimes I think itās great, sometimes I think thereās too many people here, but I donāt think about the ethnic mix.
I donāt think about peopleās ethnic backgrounds at all.
I tend to think more on individual [basis]. It sounds awful because Iām Black, but I donāt think of my colour at all, throughout my day I donāt actually think about it.
Whenever I get up, when I go out the door, when I walk down the street, I walk always in my mind you walk as a Black person. You walk as a Black woman, and I feel that I am an example to young Black girls when I see them on the street. I feel that I have to recognise the senior Black people on the street. The way that I allow my children to see me being treated in a shop scenario as a Black person is very important because I think it is always an education for them.
Its [cultural identity] complexity exceeds [a] binary structure of representation. At different places, times, in relation to different questions, the boundaries are re-sited. They become, not only what they have, at times, certainly been ā mutually excluding categories, but also what they sometimes are ā differential points along a sliding scale.(Hall 1996: 215)
Friendship groups and work relationships
I have friends who work in clerical positions who would only do certain things. Itās really weird. If you try and get them to do something else they donāt want to because they feel as though if they were to do it they would be out of place (ā¦) they donāt understand why I would want to go to a place that is frequented by White people and they see it as a place that is frequented by White people when it is not (ā¦) if I go to an exhibition or if I go to a gallery for example (ā¦). I am not sure if it is because they think that there are certain things that you canāt do as a Black person or that actually I know what it is, I think it is because they think there are certain things that you shouldnāt do as a Black person but if you were to do these certain things it makes you very āunblackā to do them.
Clearly all the friends that I have are not going to be Jamaican [like me]. My Black friends are from Ghana, Nigeria, from wherever, so there are certain sensibilities that have to be negotiated there but the one thing that you donāt actually have to explain to someone is being Black. You donāt have to talk about it. I mean you might moan about things that happen but you donāt have to explain. I have my closest [White] friends whom I have known since I was 11 who would do anything for me but still to this day talk about Black people and their ghetto blasters and I say, āWell what are you talking about? Do I have a ghetto blaster?ā And you know you can constantly be surprised by this.(Lorraine)
ā¦ I recall talking to one in particular [East Asian] woman about it and she said to me, āI just donāt feel comfortable with them [White colleagues] at all. They donāt make me feel comfortableā. Whereas I socialise sometimes but I am aware that when I am socialising it is sort of like I am doing it on the basis that I donāt see why I should exclude myself and so I might not enjoy this but you need to learn to interact with me whether you like it or not (ā¦) Someone, one of the most senior of the ā¦ runs the whole [organisation] saw me the other day and said hello to me thinking I was another Black woman and when she said the name I said, āI am not so and soā, and she...
Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Half Title Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- Key to transcripts
- List of parent occupations
- Introduction: background and context
- 1 Race, class status and identification
- Part I The Black middle classes and school
- Part II The Black middle classes and society
- Conclusion: a colour-blind future?
- References
- Author Index
- Subject Index