Scholar and Author Cassi Pittman Claytor On “Black Privilege”
In 1996 at the ripe age of 33, I had a travel experience that for the first time opened my eyes to the deepest depths of privilege and wealth. That spring, my Dad invited me to join him as a guest of his at a weekend board retreat held at California’s famed Lodge At Pebble Beach. Sadly, it was our last trip together as he died that summer.
We were greeted at Los Angeles International by our own limo driver who took us for a breathtaking trek through lush greenery and the Pacific coastline.
As our limo pulled up at the front entrance of the ritzy Lodge at Pebble Beach where we would be staying, my Dad leaned over and whispered in my ear, “son, enjoy every moment of this experience because us black folks are rarely afforded these sorts of opportunities.”
After the doorman gathered our bags, we were immediately escorted to our room (“no need to even check-in?” I remember thinking). Once inside, Dad and I came to a startling realization, namely, that the balcony attached to our room overlooked the 9th hole of the infamous Pebble Beach golf course. At this point, my Dad winked and said, “son, it doesn’t get any better than this.”
Years later I’m reminded of this experience amid the rancor around “white privilege,” a term that began receiving renewed interest during the George Floyd fueled racial justice protests of 2020. First coined by activist and scholar Peggy McIntosh in 1988 in her paper "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” it’s a legacy that many argue remains enmeshed in the systems and institutions of today’s society.
Now is a groundbreaking book entitled “Black Privilege: Modern Middle-Class Blacks With Credentials and Cash To Spend” by Cassi Pittman Claytor (Stanford University Press — 2020), Case Western Reserve University professor and scholar Cassi Pittman Claytor examines the underlying social and cultural underpinnings of Black wealth and privilege in America.
This exquisitely well-researched book offers an uncommon look at economically advantaged Black Americans whose credentials allow them access to elite opportunities amid persistent racial and anti-black bias.
To provide credence to her message, Pittman Taylor draws on research conducted in the New York metropolitan area between 2009 and 2014 of fifty-four middle-class Blacks. As the largest Black American population of any U.S. metro area, NYC, according to Pittman-Claytor, continues to see a steady rise of socio-economically privileged blacks who enjoy similar advantages as their white counterparts.
Through first-hand accounts, she highlights how the Black middle-class New Yorkers featured adroitly navigate the social and business environments of their everyday lives through carefully honed consumer strategies and cultural tools. Notes Pittman Claytor in her book:
“The slow but steady expansion of the Black middle class has led to the emergence of black privilege — a unique set of social experiences and entitlements that accompany middle-class status as blacks experience it. Black privilege refers to the experience of advantage, the benefits that accrue from having access to cultural and material capital, and the world views that result from the opportunities and experiences that generate such resources. But it also attends to the matrix of tastes and preferences, manifested in the habits, everyday practices, and leisure pursuits of modern middle-class blacks that demonstrate their racial identities and allegiances.”
While reading this book, I was reminded of the prominent black thought-leader W.E.B. Du Bois’ and his concept of double consciousness, the internal conflict many blacks experience in terms of how they view themselves versus how the largely dominant white society sees them.
Says Pittman-Claytor in her book:
“Du Bois famously described the fierce tension between blacks’ private and public identities, which resulted in a “two-ness.” He viewed blacks “double consciousness” as a gift and a curse. Mostly though, it reflects the troublesome nature of race and the oppressive conditions that blacks face in a racist society.”
She uses this context to describe the dilemma that middle-class blacks face in dealing with environments of “white decorum” that require them to “tone down” their otherwise unapologetically black selves.
It’s here where my father taught me well, namely, how to expertly relate to well-heeled white crowds in environments where we were proverbially the only “flies in the buttermilk.”
Pittman’s book in this regard was very relatable as she illustrates how black professionals can pursue a course of considerable luxury and leisure while still maintaining and cultivating solidarity across racial and class lines.
Take for example one professional Pittman Claytor features:
“Each morning, Tasha, a young attorney, leaves Harlem where black culture is celebrated and where she feels part of a black community. She enters an office where she is the exception, as one of just two black women present. There she begins to play a complicated game: how to leverage her class privilege against persistent, everyday racism.”
The book’s storytelling along with poignant insights make it a compelling read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of black, middle-class America’s ongoing quest to overcome persistent barriers to wealth and success.
Diamond (Michael) Scott, Independent Journalist and Global Bool Ambassador, Great Books, Great Minds — greatbooksgreatminds@protonmail.com