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Though they may sympathize with the tragedy of the underclass, many middle- class blacks are not prepared to remain inside the ghetto. They point out that they have worked hard to spare themselves and their families deprivation. Typical is Richard Parsons, president of the Dime Savings Bank in New York City. "Why should I live in Harlem?" asks Parsons, who resides in a wealthy Westchester County, N.Y., suburb. "If given a choice between unsafe streets and poor schools on the one hand, and peace and quiet and quality schools on the other, who wouldn't pick the best neighborhood and the best schools? The black underclass is not just our problem. It's all of society's problem."
Nevertheless, the decline of the underclass imposes a psychological burden, in part because whites remain far too willing to associate all blacks with welfare dependency, crime and broken families. Moreover, many middle-class blacks feel personally guilty about the unpromising prospects of poorer blacks. That may be the most unfair burden of all, since the black middle class by itself does not have nearly enough resources to lift the underclass into the mainstream. Patricia Grayson speaks for many affluent blacks when she observes, "One person can do only so much. I think it's unfair for people to try to make successful blacks feel guilty for not feeling guilty all the time."
The truth is that all of the nation should feel ashamed and enraged by the sorry condition of the underclass. Its misery in the midst of an affluent society is a disgrace. While the growth and strength of the black middle class prove that the U.S. has gone far to untangle its racial conundrum, racism remains at the top of a long list of unsolved national problems. The success of middle-class blacks is mainly the product of their own hard work and tenacity. But it would not have occurred without the national consensus, embodied in civil rights legislation, to dismantle segregation and create equal opportunities for all. Further strides toward that goal depend on a renewed commitment to the elimination of prejudice -- and an economy buoyant enough to ensure opportunities for all Americans.
There are already unsettling signals that the future growth of the black middle class is in jeopardy at its source. For one thing, while rates of college enrollment by black women have remained steady, the number of black males enrolled in colleges declined from 470,000 to 436,000 between 1976 and 1986. That represents a drop of 34,000 students during a period when total college enrollment grew by more than a million and the proportion of black students who finished high school climbed from 68% to 76%. Possible explanations include the shift from grants to loans in federal aid for higher education, a lack of aggressive recruitment by colleges and tougher entrance requirements.
Future progress might be stifled by an economic downturn. University of Maryland sociologist Bart Landry, author of The New Black Middle Class, predicts that by the end of the next decade 56.4% of all black workers and 63% of all white workers will be in the middle class -- provided the economy expands at a healthy clip. If it does not, Landry warns, the expansion of the black middle class could come to a sudden halt. Says he: "During periods when the economy is tight, discrimination asserts itself."