Black Class Exceptionalism: Insights from Direct Democracy on the Race Versus Class Debate

Abstract

What implications does the growing economic divide be tween poor and middle class blacks have for the political arena? Tradi tional accounts suggest that increased economic diversity should lead to increased political division as the middle class becomes more conser vative. Others maintain that race will continue to trump class because of ongoing racial inequality and widespread racial discrimination. I ar gue for a third alternative. I suggest that for blacks and possibly for other racial minorities increasing class status reinforces race. Class gains may increase the salience of race because economic success often means working in a predominantly white world and experiencing discrimination more regularly. I test these theories using the vote in direct democracy. I find that middle class blacks are more rather than less likely to support a liberal or black agenda. Class works differently for African Americans than for whites. A substantial economic gulf has emerged within the African American commu nity. While the proportion of blacks in the middle class has more than doubled,