ABSTRACT

BEFORE GRAPPLING WITH THE SPECIFIC QUESTION OF HOW RACE AND CLASS intersect in the case of Harlem, views of class in the literature should clarify how these concepts are used in this book. Social scientists, historians, and laypersons agree that when we talk about class, we are discussing processes, issues, and conditions rooted in the economic. For over a century, however, disagreement has ensued about the specific ways in which class differentiation shapes the human experience.