✊🏿ap african american studies review

Black middle class

Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated August 2025
Verified for the 2027 exam
Verified for the 2027 examWritten by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated August 2025

Definition

The socioeconomic stratum of African American professionals, business owners, and educated workers whose emergence in the twentieth century represented economic advancement, though disparities in wealth relative to white families persisted.

AP course connection

Topic 4.15: 4.15 Economic Growth and Black Political Representation

Unit 4

"Black middle class" also found in: