ABSTRACT
In order to understand Black conservatism, it is important to understand the character of the Black bourgeoisie. The ethic of “individual initiative” and “strong families” are values intimately related to the stereotypes that locate Black poverty in the misbehavior of those Blacks who do not make progress. Black bourgeois mythology is a powerful theme in the African American community, one that exists on two layers. First, like the conservative Horatio Alger myth, Black bourgeois mythology asserts that values and behavior determine economic success. Second, the myth maintains that middle-class African Americans are different from other African Americans. Apart from their classic Black bourgeois perspectives, Black conservative intellectuals also consistently demonstrate they have personally internalized negative stereotypes about poor African Americans and about African American culture. Black conservative intellectuals’ solutions for improving race relations are very much tied to the classic attitudes of the Black bourgeoisie, and to issues of identity and status.
