Disunification

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Disunification Classism has existed for many years within the Black community. It introduced its self to the slaves and has continued to reveal its self to Blacks well into the 21st century. Having a great presence within the Black community, classism has caused a disunification within the Black community. In the years of slavery the house Negro considered himself better than the field Negro. Today the middle-class black considers himself above the lower-class black. Both the house Negro and the middle-class black family have strived to disassociate themselves from those Blacks of lower status. Consequently, Blacks have suffered a great separation among their community. The starting point of classism within the Black community began with the house Negro and field Negro. The house Negro held himself in higher regards than he held the field Negro. A field Negro who slaved day in and day out picking cotton would never live the life of a house Negro. In Malcolm X's excerpt "Message to the Grass Roots," the house Negro "identified himself with his master, more than his master identified with himself" (400). The master of a plantation was held to the highest standards when he was around and he was in no way associated with the field Negro other than being his superior. The house Negro emulated his master, he made sure the field Negro knew the house Negro was not a part of their family. Although the house Negro and field Negro were of the same African descent, their different lifestyle would not allow them to unite. In recent years the new house Negro is the middle-class black family and the field Negro is the lower-class Black family. The middle-class black family has done everything in his power to flee the stereotypes of the lower-class black. In "Faking the Funk: The Middle Class Black folks of Prince George`s County," by Nathan McCall, some middle-class blacks from an area called Prince George's county petitioned for a different zip code, because their current one too closely related them with Landover, a lower-class black community (275). The middle-class black family has fallen victim to classism whether he is willing to acknowledge it or not. The mentality of the middle-class black resembles "the white racist stereotype of Blacks" (Steele 266). For example the middle-class black sees the lower-class black as a lazy irresponsible person with no work ethic. The more negative images the middle-class black relates to the lower-class black the more the middle-class black tries to disembody himself from that image.

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