ABSTRACT
The future of black politics hinges largely on the attitude and behavior of the emerging black middle class. It has been suggested that a class-related schism in blacks’ attitudes would develop only if the classes differentiated from each other in their dependence on government services and support. 1 However, it has also been suggested that blacks’ economic self-interest would operate to prevent such class-based cleavages from emerging within the community, 2 and increasing life chances for blacks and the escalation of class divisions would not factor into their political behavior. 3 However, one must consider as we move further away from the Protest Era of black politics how changes in the socioeconomic and sociodemographic characteristics of the black community will impact the group’s collective political attitudes and behavior. Thus, it is posited that the changing role of race and class in society and the intersection of the two in the Socioeconomic Transition Era will make black politics more complex and less likely to conform to the traditional models of political behavior.
