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2.5 Million Black Men Are in the Upper Class

entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,142
https://ifstudies.org/blog/2-5-million-black-men-are-in-the-upper-class

Source Alert: I saw this on Twitter, but this source is clearly traditionally conservative. I did not see them on the SPLC watch list like other "family" based think tanks.

However, I still think it merits discussion due to some very key findings. Moreover, they actually acknowledge structural racism!

But the negative news about race in general and black men, in particular, is not the whole story. Our new report, Black Men Making It In America, finds that despite the burdens they face—from residential segregation to workplace discrimination to over incarceration—more than one-half of black men have made it into the middle or upper class as adults. This means that millions of black men are flourishing financially in America.
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Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979) that tracks black men from their teenage years to midlife, we find that a majority of upper-income black men in their fifties today are from humble roots. For example, 59% were lower-income when they were teenagers or young adults. And about half of them grew up outside of an intact, two-parent family. Yet, these men made it into the upper class despite the challenges they faced through thirty-plus years of life. What paths did they take to the top?

We identified three major factors that are linked to the financial success of black men in midlife today: education, work, and marriage. Black men who have a college degree, a full-time job, or a spouse are much more likely than their peers to end up in the upper-income bracket as fifty-something men.

About half of black men with a bachelor's or higher degree have made it to the top income by age 50, compared with only 14% of high school graduates and 22% of black men with some college education. And more than 3-in-10 married black men (regardless of whether they are in their first marriage or not) are in the upper-income group, compared with only 6% of never-married black men. In a multivariate analysis that includes a range of factors, education, work, and marriage are highly predictive of black men's economic success.

Moreover, a number of early life experiences are associated with black men's elevated odds of being financially successful. Black men who served in the military or attended church regularly as young adults are more likely to have made it to the upper class by age 50. The impact of military experience on black men's success seems to work through its links with black men's work and marital status. That is, black men who served in the military early in life are more likely to be working full time and to be married later in life.

Having a sense of personal agency also is linked to black men's success. Black men who believed at a young age that they were mostly responsible for their lives rather than outside forces (measured by a locus of control scale) are more likely to flourish later in life.
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I think here is the power of beneficial networks. Black men who served in the military or attended church regularly as young adults are more likely to make the upper class by 50.

Marriage is also a big contributor. Marriage as a contributor to heterosexual men's overall well being has been well documented. Married men of all colors make more money, live longer, and are generally happier than their single counterparts. Women, don't report such benefits actually.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/585665?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Really the takeaways for me here is the important of mutual support networks at an early age. This is a key thing that could be applied to other helping minorities, women, LGBT, and so on.

Fun fact on the military, the US military has some of best work development programs in terms of training. The issue many of the skills they teach don't always translate to the marketplace. However, if you do pick a more transferable skill, you're definitely better off. Plus the GI Bill for attaining degrees, another key contributor to success. But their training methodologies are best in class.
 
Volimar

Volimar

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Oct 25, 2017
38,515
In this time of white supremacists feeling emboldened is it paranoid that I don't want this news to get around? Afraid of a Black Wall Street sequel.
 
OP
OP
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,142
Volimar said:
In this time of white supremacists feeling emboldened is it paranoid that I don't want this news to get around? Afraid of a Black Wall Street sequel.
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Atlanta is a good reminder that black upper communities are alive and well without too much interference.
 
zero_suit

zero_suit

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,577
What's the split between native black people and immigrants? Many studies like to combine the two groups, which doesn't paint an accurate picture.
 
Kirblar

Kirblar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
30,744
entremet said:
I forgot. You're right. Marriage is becoming less common in the lower classes.
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No worries! Some of these rw/religious think tanks are actually legit with their studies and you get really interesting stuff out of them. There was one that found that college kids arent less religious because of indoctrination, its because they were already less religious and moving out of their home environments let them start acting on that rather than being forced to go to church every Sunday.
 

bawjaws

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,584
Can someone give me some class definitions as it pertains to America? What is upper, middle and lower class in the States, because I'm fairly sure at least one of those will be quite different from its namesake in the UK.
 
Branu

Branu

Banned
Feb 7, 2018
1,029
entremet said:
Atlanta is a good reminder that black upper communities are alive and well without too much interference.
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Don't believe the hype. Most blacks in Atlanta are not upper class by any stretch, and the city is currently in the process of being gentrified, which is moving much of its black population to Greater Atlanta suburbs.
 
Advance.Wars.Sgt.

Advance.Wars.Sgt.

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Jun 10, 2018
8,847
There are some choice passages I find a problem with (namely, the subtle "bootstraps" paragraph and young black boys being disillusioned by negative racial news (hint: they should be)), but this bit of info is good to know.

Not everything is looking so bleak, though IMO this does nothing to dispell the narrative of a wealth gap due to the eroision of the middle class.
 
mutantmagnet

mutantmagnet

Member
Oct 28, 2017
12,401
bawjaws said:
Can someone give me some class definitions as it pertains to America? What is upper, middle and lower class in the States, because I'm fairly sure at least one of those will be quite different from its namesake in the UK.
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It is explained in a chart. In this case you have to be in the 33% income bracket.
 
House_Of_Lightning

House_Of_Lightning

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Oct 29, 2017
5,048
bawjaws said:
Can someone give me some class definitions as it pertains to America? What is upper, middle and lower class in the States, because I'm fairly sure at least one of those will be quite different from its namesake in the UK.
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Lower/Middle Class are working class subdivided into a nebulous wage earnings and amount in savings.
 

Deleted member 6230

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entremet said:
I think here is the power of beneficial networks. Black men who served in the military or attended church regularly as young adults are more likely to

Really the takeaways for me here is the important of mutual support networks at an early age. This is a key thing that could be applied to other helping minorities, women, LGBT, and so on.
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That's a fair conclusion to draw from this study but we also must recognize that marginalized groups generally don't have access to such support networks. Poor people get trapped in negative feedback loops.
 
Baji Boxer

Baji Boxer

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Oct 27, 2017
11,380
mutantmagnet said:
Legacy.

Being part of an upperclass isn't strictly about money but for a country analysis it is unwise to use those other metrics unless you can prove those metrics also lead to the stability increasing levels of income provides.
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I usually hear that distinction termed old money vs. new money.
 
mutantmagnet

mutantmagnet

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Oct 28, 2017
12,401
Advance.Wars.Sgt. said:
There are some choice passages I find a problem with (namely, the subtle "bootstraps" paragraph and young black boys being disillusioned by negative racial news (hint: they should be)), but this bit of info is good to know.

Not everything is looking so bleak, though IMO this does nothing to dispell the narrative of a wealth gap due to the eroision of the middle class.
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If you read the full article you'll see they agree on that point multiple times. They still have their biases to ideas that conservatives have beaten to death like bootstraps and marriages but this article does come across well enough that the people who constructed this don't come off as hypocritical myopic assholes.


More conservatives should be thoughtful like this but we know their racist tendencies will prevent them from doing that.

As for these guys they could be engaged as equals.


One thing I find ironic in their article is that they hype up a ton of different social networks, marriage, military, and mass but they end the article declaring men who see the world as determined by personal actions is heavily at odds with these collective influences.
 
Malleymal

Malleymal

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Oct 28, 2017
6,301
Wait ... how much is considered upper class? My fiancé and I are above 200k a year, how much more do I need to be considered a black male in the upper class. I don't feel anywhere close to upper class.
 
ZackieChan

ZackieChan

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Oct 27, 2017
8,056
mutantmagnet said:
declaring men who see the world as determined by personal actions is heavily at odds with these collective influences.
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I'd argue that taking advantage of the existence of a network (and getting in on it in the first place) IS a personal action. I went to church - it didn't do shit for me because I didn't care. But I network in my business now and do great work for clients, so that leads to more referrals. It's a little of both, really, like many things.
 
mutantmagnet

mutantmagnet

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Baji Boxer said:
I usually hear that distinction termed old money vs. new money.
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Yeah that succinctly gets across how it isn't only about money. Another way is to look at cultural leaders. Those at the top of social ladders because they lead a group aren't likely to be the wealthiest member in that community. But do to the community needing that position filled they will support that leader and those close to them by sharing their property or time.
 

Deleted member 6230

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ZackieChan said:
I'd argue that taking advantage of the existence of a network (and getting in on it in the first place) IS a personal action. I went to church - it didn't do shit for me because I didn't care. But I network in my business now and do great work for clients, so that leads to more referrals. It's a little of both, really, like many things.
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I mean access to such networks in the first place is predicated on environment
 
Ryuelli

Ryuelli

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Oct 26, 2017
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_Karooo said:
I don't get it?
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Anecdotally, but I would say the vast majority of people I know who attend church tend to be more successful. I don't think that really has anything to do with religion, more that it has to do with the fact that they have another source to network with people and also tend to volunteer quite a bit, which looks pretty good on a resume.
 
mutantmagnet

mutantmagnet

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Oct 28, 2017
12,401
ZackieChan said:
I'd argue that taking advantage of the existence of a network (and getting in on it in the first place) IS a personal action. I went to church - it didn't do shit for me because I didn't care. But I network in my business now and do great work for clients, so that leads to more referrals. It's a little of both, really, like many things.
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This is absolutely correct. You can be brought into a group but if you don't engage then you are squandering the opportunity.

There are 2 issues I basically see. The fundamental differences between maintaining an attitude that you are responsible for where you are and outside for forces affect you the most do not determine if a person takes action or not.

People take action when they are angry/passionate or when there is zero risk or as close to it as they can tolerate.


People who commit suicide on average blame themselves for their problems even after the fact we find outside factors that were critical towards pushing them so tragically. You can have a sense of personal responsibility and blame yourself for being in a worse shape and feel stuck.

Meanwhile someone who sees outside influences matter most can become motivated once they find themselves in a group that makes them feel safe to take risks.



The second problem I have is that more often than not we see more negative effects of this attitude where libertarians and small business owners act as if public funded roads, schools and so on didn't support them and that other people aren't deserving of additional or focused public assistance.
 
low-G

low-G

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Oct 25, 2017
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Malleymal said:
Wait ... how much is considered upper class? My fiancé and I are above 200k a year, how much more do I need to be considered a black male in the upper class. I don't feel anywhere close to upper class.
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Socivol said:
Holy shit that is low. According to this I was in the top 1/3 as a black man at the age of 26 with my spouse. Insane! We make even more now but I feel like I am barely middle class. I don't even know how everyone else is living.
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Where are you living? Because both of you are earning a shitload.

If it's San Francisco I can understand.
 

idlewild_

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Oct 29, 2017
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Socivol said:
Holy shit that is low. According to this I was in the top 1/3 as a black man at the age of 26 with my spouse. Insane! We make even more now but I feel like I am barely middle class. I don't even know how everyone else is living.
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Depends where you live, it's good money in a small town in the middle west whereas it's "low income" in the bay area.
 
mutantmagnet

mutantmagnet

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low-G said:
Where are you living? Because both of you are earning a shitload.

If it's San Francisco I can understand.
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80k combined isn't a lot.


Besides the problem with income brackets is that they don't reflect all assets. White Americans have way more assets as other existing research has revealed.
 
Socivol

Socivol

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low-G said:
Where are you living? Because both of you are earning a shitload.

If it's San Francisco I can understand.
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I live in Chicago it's not super expensive but it's not cheap and the taxes here are extremely high. We bring in mid six figures and we were looking for a house and couldn't afford shit worth a damn.
 
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