An in-depth look at the rising American generation entering the Black
professional class
Despite their diversity, Black Americans have long been studied as a
uniformly disadvantaged group. Drawing from a representative sample of
over a thousand Black students and in-depth interviews and focus groups
with over one hundred more, Young, Gifted and Diverse highlights
diversity among the new educated Black elite--those graduating from
America's selective colleges and universities in the early twenty-first
century.
Differences in childhood experiences shape this generation, including
their racial and other social identities and attitudes, and beliefs
about and interactions with one another. While those in the new Black
elite come from myriad backgrounds and have varied views on American
racism, as they progress through college and toward the Black
professional class they develop a shared worldview and group
consciousness. They graduate with optimism about their own futures, but
remain guarded about racial equality more broadly. This internal
diversity alongside political consensus among the elite complicates
assumptions about both a monolithic Black experience and the future of
Black political solidarity.