The Myth Of the Black Middle Class : Umar Johnson (Video)

[Mark Antony]

Didnt watch this BS.

Im from PG County, MD.

The Black middle/upper-middle class is real.

Don't believe the negativity, yall.

Where i live is all Black doctors and lawyers and whatnot including blue collar people and small business owners.

We need to get all that Black=poverty BS out of our consciousness.

Speaking of PG County, there was a good read in the WaPo last week on it. Since you live there, what do you think it would take to fix up the schools and also curb some of the crime? The article was stating that houses are dirt cheap (and why the prices hardly ever raise) over there because of those factors. In addition to it being (I think) 66% African-American.

Yeah I would not buy a house over there when I start a family. For a single dude though? sure. Those schools are horrendously, embarassingly bad. One thing I will say about the black/upper middle class in pg, they don't group together like they should to ensure that things like schools and community centers are up to par.

 

[createdestroy]

[

The problem is that the concept of class is changing rapidly, and what was once middle class (blue collar) is for the most part now working-poor, what used to be upper-middle class is now just middle class, so on and so forth.

View media item 849882

my mom bout a house for less than 200k back in the 80's.. had her house appraised for 1.1mill today

No way she would be able to get that with the same career and credentials she had in the past...

Median income (51k) = upper lower class in cali

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Yeah I would not buy a house over there when I start a family. For a single dude though? sure. Those schools are horrendously, embarassingly bad. One thing I will say about the black/upper middle class in pg, they don't group together like they should to ensure that things like schools and community centers are up to par.

What can adults realistically do in this situation to try to improve schools?

I mentioned earlier that the quality of the schools basically depends of the "quality of life" the people that live in the school's community have. So outside of fixing the lives of people that live in that district, what can be done?

 

[createdestroy]

Yeah I would not buy a house over there when I start a family. For a single dude though? sure. Those schools are horrendously, embarassingly bad. One thing I will say about the black/upper middle class in pg, they don't group together like they should to ensure that things like schools and community centers are up to par.

What can adults realistically do in this situation to try to improve schools?

I mentioned earlier that the quality of the schools basically depends of the "quality of life" the people that live in the school's community have. So outside of fixing the lives of people that live in that district, what can be done?

If a parent is active in their kid's schooling (knowing the teachers, and knowing the progression of the classwork) they will be better able to supplement the schoolwork.

ie. teaching beyond the scheduled work.

In korea/japan they don't rely on the school to provide the full education... afterschool programs, private tutoring, and parent tutoring are the norm.

My niece goes to poly high in long beach... so you got bangers and mini dboys going to school with the kids in PACE programs already on track for UCLA or Berkley...
You get out of it what you put into it...

 

[HankHill]

The public system honestly isn't that bad in PG compared to other public school districts. The core curriculum is also the same as private schools, except you have more options for your child to pursue and "expand their horizons" in private school. The issue people have with sending their child to those schools is really because they don't want them brought down due to the under performing or non-caring students. There are honors and magnet programs to have them in a productive environment, but the over all student population may still fall in the under performing category for the parents. So that leaves you with either moving out to parts of VA, parts of MoCo , and Howard County for better public schooling where you have less BSing students, or putting your child in private school. The stigma towards the county as a whole hinders it. There's a vast difference between Roosevelt and Fairmont Heights, but people clump everything with the latter.



Personally, I would never send my child to a private school, unless they're drawn there for a sports program. 16k is on the cheap side for private schools in the area. St. Albans in DC starts at 38k.

 

[DCAllAfrican]

What you are saying is ideal. Sounds great. Of course if parents are more active in the learning process the child has a better chance of excelling.

But many parents are not. What do you do?

Looking at DCPS. Most parents of these students don't care. Maybe I shouldn't say most since I don't have actual %'s. A large number don't care. A large number don't invest time/energy into what their kids are learning everyday.

What can be done?

As long as there is a large number of parents that don't give a damn, how can we expect entire school districts to improve?

 

[4318michaeljohnson4318]

You're over thinking.

The nurse is middle class just like the doctor is upper-middle class.

The problem is that the concept of class is changing rapidly, and what was once middle class (blue collar) is for the most part now working-poor, what used to be upper-middle class is now just middle class, so on and so forth.

The concept of class has just recently changed with the policies and the failure of higher education. If you go back to lets say 10 years ago the idea of class was more concrete than it is today. The financial collapse and mortgage situation ruined a lot of middle class families. I dont like adding tiers into the middle class I rather group it as a statistical grouping where middle class would represent the income of ~50% of our country. Of course what middle class is can differ from state to state but I just have a hard time grasping how someone who makes 3-4 times more than the median income can be considered middle class.

 

[4318michaeljohnson4318]

What you are saying is ideal. Sounds great. Of course if parents are more active in the learning process the child has a better chance of excelling.

But many parents are not. What do you do?

Looking at DCPS. Most parents of these students don't care. Maybe I shouldn't say most since I don't have actual %'s. A large number don't care. A large number don't invest time/energy into what their kids are learning everyday.

What can be done?

As long as there is a large number of parents that don't give a damn, how can we expect entire school districts to improve?

I would say in the Black Community its damn near hard for a Parent to supplement their childs education because for one most black parents dont have a college education so in most cases their child could actually be teaching them. And with the crazy high rate of single parent households the parent usually doesnt even have time to even help the kid with their HW (even tho odds are they wouldnt know a thing about college prep courses).

 

[createdestroy]

What you are saying is ideal. Sounds great. Of course if parents are more active in the learning process the child has a better chance of excelling.

But many parents are not. What do you do?

Looking at DCPS. Most parents of these students don't care. Maybe I shouldn't say most since I don't have actual %'s. A large number don't care. A large number don't invest time/energy into what their kids are learning everyday.

What can be done?

As long as there is a large number of parents that don't give a damn, how can we expect entire school districts to improve?

this right here is the million dollar question....

It will have to start with the black community coming together to force a social change in the way "education" is viewed and approached.

 

[HankHill]

I would say in the Black Community its damn near hard for a Parent to supplement their childs education because for one most black parents dont have a college education so in most cases their child could actually be teaching them. And with the crazy high rate of single parent households the parent usually doesnt even have time to even help the kid with their HW (even tho odds are they wouldnt know a thing about college prep courses).

I have to call BS on that, at least for this generation. Some may not have a college education, but a lot have of post-secondary education (whether or not it resulted in a degree). Having time to sit down and go over work may be an issue, but that doesn't excuse not spending 1 minute to look at your child's report card. I've met parents who didn't even know schools gave out progress reports. A lot of parents just aren't involved with the school or make education a a value and see it as somewhere you send your kids to or "something you just do" like getting married.

 

[jjs07]

Yeah I would not buy a house over there when I start a family. For a single dude though? sure. Those schools are horrendously, embarassingly bad. One thing I will say about the black/upper middle class in pg, they don't group together like they should to ensure that things like schools and community centers are up to par.

And the Post highlighted young singles who are moving out there...

Also, you brought up an interesting point I never thought of. Why isn't the upper/middle-class grouping together in PG?

 

[4318michaeljohnson4318]

I have to call BS on that, at least for this generation. Some may not have a college education, but a lot have of post-secondary education (whether or not it resulted in a degree). Having time to sit down and go over work may be an issue, but that doesn't excuse not spending 1 minute to look at your child's report card. I've met parents who didn't even know schools gave out progress reports. A lot of parents just aren't involved with the school or make education a a value and see it as somewhere you send your kids to or "something you just do" like getting married.

My mother has a bachelors and working on her masters now but she received her bachelors when I was 20 years old. My father did not go to HS. Most of my friends growing up (I am 23) didnt go to college. Obviously my friends who had parents who did go to college ended up producing kids that did end up in a university. Majority wise the kids who had parents that didnt go to a university ended up at our local community college. Obviously I am not a millennial so maybe a millennials point of view may differ but it will but IMO we are maybe 1 to 2 generations away from having most parents having some college experience. In your example though looking at a kids report card is a big difference from supplementing education. If you want to supplement college prep for a child that is preparing to go into a STEM program most black parents will not be able to supplement that. Yes they can push their child to achieve their goals but actually being able to tutor and advance their education is not likely.

As I should note again I am from the south so my view on the education system and household situation will differ from other regions.

 

[deuce king]

 

Yeah I would not buy a house over there when I start a family. For a single dude though? sure. Those schools are horrendously, embarassingly bad. One thing I will say about the black/upper middle class in pg, they don't group together like they should to ensure that things like schools and community centers are up to par.

And the Post highlighted young singles who are moving out there...

Also, you brought up an interesting point I never thought of. Why isn't the upper/middle-class grouping together in PG?

I might have missed the details for this, but grouping together to do what exactly??

 

[4318michaeljohnson4318]

I might have missed the details for this, but grouping together to do what exactly??

I believe to improve public education so they wont be forced to ship their schools to private schools for a good education.

 

[tay1]

I'm on break and didn't skim through the video but based off the title, I can't see how that's true. There's many out there that isn't poor but not rich. That leaves them in the middle. I'm figuring the person in the video is trying to make a bigger point or something. I'll watch and read the comments when I get off.

 

[atlien seeko]

Posting fo lata

 

[big panda]

And the Post highlighted young singles who are moving out there...

Also, you brought up an interesting point I never thought of. Why isn't the upper/middle-class grouping together in PG?

to answer your question it comes down the culture of the area.

in the whole entire dc/md/va area its become normal for one part of the area to hate on another part of the area

md/dc think there better than va and are more street and tougher

pg and dc think there harder and more street and tougher then MoCo

pg think it's harder then dc since dc has been become gentrified 

dc think it's better then everyone since it's what brings the whole entire area together

people only come together in this area to hate on something bigger then them combined.

for example take wale, many dc people throw out this notion that he's not from dc.

on twitter and instagram they hager him and say you not from dc stop claimin it, it dont claim you.

the whole entire is a barrel of crab that tries to bring down anyone who has any inch of success.

most of the upper/middle-class have come from the same street with this mentality and have brought it with them to the middle/upper class.

 

[capital sb]

Didnt watch this BS.

Im from PG County, MD.

The Black middle/upper-middle class is real.

Don't believe the negativity, yall.

Where i live is all Black doctors and lawyers and whatnot including blue collar people and small business owners.

We need to get all that Black=poverty BS out of our consciousness.

Let em know man we out here in the DMV flourishing 

 

How are schools in Arlington/Alexandria?

 

[rico x hood]

PG county is still trash though. High crime and ****** schools. It's definitely not some place I'd go to start a family.

 

[capital sb]

PG county is still trash though. High crime and ****** schools. It's definitely not some place I'd go to start a family.

 right my Dad acts like it is crime free and that the school system is good out there. I would never send my kids to a PG school.

 

[a blinkin]

I looked at the title and knew my dude DC started the thread

 

[mr s j king]

School is not where you send your child for an education.
Your child is to be educated at home.
The school system is designed to provide children with information and help children develop social skills.

 

[jjs07]

School is not where you send your child for an education.
Your child is to be educated at home.
The school system is designed to provide children with information and help children develop social skills.

You said a whole lot of nothing. On one hand you're saying school is not where you go for an education...on the other, you're saying that the school system is designed to provide children with information. Isn't that LEARNING?

C'mon...some of yall think you're too smart for your own good.

 

[mr s j king]

You said a whole lot of nothing. On one hand you're saying school is not where you go for an education...on the other, you're saying that the school system is designed to provide children with information. Isn't that LEARNING?

C'mon...some of yall think you're too smart for your own good.

Most schools don't focus on teaching black history or anything that is empowering for the mindset of black children.
If you consider calculus and being told lies about how great so many former slave owners were as "education", then more power to you.

 

[360waves]

Define middle class