The black elite
Encyclopedia
The black elite in the South
of the United States
started forming before the American Civil War
among free blacks who managed to acquire property. Of the free people of color in North Carolina
in the censuses from 1790 to 1810, 80% can be traced to African Americans free in Virginia
during the colonial period. Free blacks migrated from Virginia to other states as did their neighbors. Extensive research into colonial court records, wills and deeds has demonstrated that most of those free families came from relationships or marriages between white women, servant or free, and black men, servant, free or slave. Such relationships were part of the more fluid relationships among the working class before the boundaries of slavery
hardened.
During the 19th century, there were additional relationships between whites and blacks, not always of a consensual nature. What is notorious is that white slaveholders could take advantage of slave women because of their power. There were also slaveholders who had caring relationships, common-law marriages, and real marriages with black slave women, and who sometimes freed them and their children. Some slaveholders did provide for their mixed-race children by ensuring they got education although, in other cases, they were simply apprenticed to a trade or craft. Whatever property the father passed on to the child was important in helping that person get a start in life.
The mulatto
s patterned their lives after “polite” white society.
In the South, because of their head start
in acquiring property, the black elite began to exercise leadership roles within the church, black schools, and community, but as in any society, there were natural leaders who rose up from many classes.
Catering services and other skilled employment were important because they had the white contacts needed to remain within the “status quo”. The black elite also enjoyed the benefits of living within the white neighborhoods which further isolated them from the darker-skinned negro which caused them to blame them for the downward shifts in life-style choices. They felt that by “emulating” the white man could social standing and class be achieved.
The Civil Rights Movement
and affirmative action
brought about many changes for the black elite. As the old elite died away, it made room for the new black elite to emerge. Within its realm are the educated, the entrepreneurs, actors, singers, and those who comprise the top nine percent of the elite status.
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
started forming before the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
among free blacks who managed to acquire property. Of the free people of color in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
in the censuses from 1790 to 1810, 80% can be traced to African Americans free in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
during the colonial period. Free blacks migrated from Virginia to other states as did their neighbors. Extensive research into colonial court records, wills and deeds has demonstrated that most of those free families came from relationships or marriages between white women, servant or free, and black men, servant, free or slave. Such relationships were part of the more fluid relationships among the working class before the boundaries of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
hardened.
During the 19th century, there were additional relationships between whites and blacks, not always of a consensual nature. What is notorious is that white slaveholders could take advantage of slave women because of their power. There were also slaveholders who had caring relationships, common-law marriages, and real marriages with black slave women, and who sometimes freed them and their children. Some slaveholders did provide for their mixed-race children by ensuring they got education although, in other cases, they were simply apprenticed to a trade or craft. Whatever property the father passed on to the child was important in helping that person get a start in life.
The mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
s patterned their lives after “polite” white society.
In the South, because of their head start
Head start (positioning)
In positioning, a head start is a start in advance of the starting position of others in competition, or simply toward the finish line or desired outcome...
in acquiring property, the black elite began to exercise leadership roles within the church, black schools, and community, but as in any society, there were natural leaders who rose up from many classes.
Catering services and other skilled employment were important because they had the white contacts needed to remain within the “status quo”. The black elite also enjoyed the benefits of living within the white neighborhoods which further isolated them from the darker-skinned negro which caused them to blame them for the downward shifts in life-style choices. They felt that by “emulating” the white man could social standing and class be achieved.
The Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
and affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
brought about many changes for the black elite. As the old elite died away, it made room for the new black elite to emerge. Within its realm are the educated, the entrepreneurs, actors, singers, and those who comprise the top nine percent of the elite status.
Further reading
- Graham, Lawrence. Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class, HarperCollins Publishers Inc., New York, NY, 1999.
- Educating the Black Elite Retrieved April 30, 2007
- Probing the Black Elite’s Role for the 21st Century-Issue 134. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
- The Black Elite in America