Unstructured Interviews

Unstructured in-depth interview is a qualitative methodology used to gather data from the subject’s perspective. The purpose of in-depth interviews is to understand peoples’ lived

experiences. Through this methodology, social science researchers are able to discover the way people make sense of the world around them (Seidman 2006). Hammersley and Atkinson (1995) state, “The expressive power of language provides the most important resource for accounts” (p.126). The purpose of in-depth interviews is to go deeper into the human experience and observe how and why phenomena occur. I employ the unstructured interview method as a major research methodology because I seek to understand the way Blacks in Atlanta understand race, class and the city as a Black Mecca. In addition, I explore why these feelings may exist and offer solutions to the social problems that may arise in the research.

In-depth interviews are often used when discussing sensitive topics such as race or socioeconomic status. This method allows researchers to access the experiences of marginalized groups such as women, LGBT, people of color and low-income residents (Hesse Biber 2014). Scholars exploring systemic racism theory and the white racial frame have used in-depth interviews as a way of analyzing race and/or class (Feagin 1991; Wingfield 2008; Chou 2012; Evans 2013; Feagin 2013).

3.2 Sampling

In order to find participants for the study, I use a combination of purposive and snowball sampling. An initial post is made on various social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The post informs people about the study and requirements for participants.

Requirements include: identifying as Black or African American, being 23 years of age or older, living in Atlanta, Ga or any of the surrounding metropolitan areas, and identifying as working or middle class. I also send emails to academic listservs explaining the study and requirements. Utilizing a snowball method, I encourage respondents to share information about this study with those who may be interested and leave contact information for willing participants.

3.3 Definition of Class

Research on the black middle class uses socioeconomic factors such as income,

education, and occupation to determine a respondent’s middle-class status (Hodge and Treiman 1968; Bjorklund and Jantii 1997; Lacy 2007). The income to needs ratio is one measure used by researchers to determine if an individual is middle class. This measure states that if a family earns two times the federal poverty level income based on family size, then they are considered middle class (Burkhauser, Couch and Wittenberg 1996; Vandewater, Shim and Caplovitz 2004). According to Pew Research, middle class is defined as households with earnings of 67%-200% of a state’s median income (Elkins 2016). The median household income for Georgia was $51,244 in 2015. Therefore, my research places Atlanta’s middle-class income range between $34,333 and $102,488. In order to account for family size, I use the income to needs ratio as a subsequent measure for middle-class status. If a respondent reports living in a household or is part of a family equal to or higher than the median household or family income, then she/he likely acquires many of the benefits of a middle-class family. They are likely to live in a middle-

class neighborhood, attend a school in that neighborhood and adopt characteristics and behaviors that are in line with middle-class status. In addition to income threshold and family size, I

examine each person’s subjective class identity. They are asked which class she/he feels they belong to. This question helps determine variances between perceived class reality and actual class status.

Class is a social factor that is difficult to identify and remains fluid. Some people may have a middle-class education, but lack the income and occupation that is consistent with a middle-class lifestyle. Those respondents may be characterized as college students. Subjects who are in college and in the process of transferring to a wealthier class are categorized based on their class status at the time of the interview. However education, parental class status, and history of class mobility are important variables to consider when assessing a person’s racial and class identity. All of these variables are analyzed within the larger discussion of racial and class identity in Atlanta.

Alongside median household income and educational attainment, occupation is also used as a way to define middle-class status. White-collar jobs are occupations related to office work or professional settings. Typically, these jobs require higher education or some form of post high school training. In this research, I define middle class as individuals who meet two out of the three following descriptions: are a part of a family household where the median income ranges between $34,333 and $102,488 and is two times the federal poverty level based on family size, are employed in a white-collar occupation and have acquired some college education (Durant and Louden 1986). After employing this method, there were a few respondents whose class status was still ambiguous. For those cases, I entered there information into the class calculator found on the Pew Research Center Social and Demographic Trends website. The mechanism

determined the respondent’s class status based on income, family size and state in which they lived. I used that calculation to determine the income portion of class identity, while also assessing their education and occupation to determine their overall class identity.

3.4 Theoretical Framework

The theoretical concepts we discussed have helped to shape our understanding of race, class and identity within black communities. To advance our knowledge on this topic, I employ systemic racism theory and internalized racism as two additional frameworks that can be used to shed light on the way African American across classes negotiate multiple identities and interact with each other and the society at large.

3.4.1 Theoretical Perspective: Systemic Racism Theory

The first theoretical perspective I use to help analyze race, class and identity in Atlanta is systemic racism theory. This theory is a social science concept that explains the foundational and perpetuating structures along with the operations that help race and racism exist while developing U.S. America both past and present (Feagin 2013). Using an historical framework, this theory examines race and racism’s hegemonic force in society. Systemic racism theory explains the ways racism operates on the structural level, and exposes the societal institutions and networks that consciously and subconsciously reinforce racism (Feagin 2013).

Critics of systemic racism theory claim that we live in a post-racial/color-blind society and use the expansion of the black middle class as evidence that race is no longer an issue in this country (Thernstrom 1999). William Julius Wilson (1978) argues that improving economic conditions and civil rights laws that rid our nation of overt racism resulted in an increasing black middle class. However, Feagin (1991) found that the black middle class experience

middle class has to navigate racism in ways similar to the black working class. Feagin (1991) also explains middle-class blacks’ economic advantage and the ways money and professional networks can be used to combat racism and advance justice. Minorities regardless of class can feel the effects of racism; therefore, systemic racism is a framework necessary to understand the way race is continually reinforced throughout all of our social structures.

The notion of the “white racial frame” is one of the key elements of the systemic racism theory and is held by many whites and some minorities (Feagin 2007, p. 8). The white racial frame views whites as having a superior culture, while people of color maintain an inferior standing. With respects to social institutions, the white racial frame makes it normal to believe that social institutions are white-controlled. Also, whites believe that local schools and other public accommodations are run by whites, normalized by whites, and put in place for the benefit of whites. Whites or minorities who have adopted the white racial frame never question the privilege and dominant position of whites (Picca and Feagin 2007).

Systemic racism theory explains how laws, social institutions, housing, and other structural mechanisms within society affect African American Atlantans across class lines. My research explores the ways black middle and working-class residents interpret and combat these systemic forms of racism. Through interviews, I examine respondents’ racial narratives, ideas and interpretations of white superiority (Feagin 2013) to explain how systemic forms of racism shape African American’s white racial frame.

3.4.2 Theoretical Perspective: Internalized Racism

Internalized racism is a form of systemic oppression that teaches African Americans to fear their own power and difference (Bivens 1995). It is the medium that perpetuates all forms of racism and inequality (Pyke 2010). Many scholars who study racial self-image concepts like

internalized oppression focus on the psychological theories without considering the macro

sociological factors (such as class and race) that contribute to personal reflection and racial group identity (Porter and Washington 1979). In my research, I examine patterns of internalized racism within the narratives of black middle and working-class residents. This theoretical framework addresses the ways systemic racism and intraracial division affect the personal and social identity of African Americans.

Internalized racism is a result of structural inequalities, although it has class implications. Systemic racism has created concentrated neighborhood effects in predominately black

neighborhoods (Wilson 1987, Sampson 2012). With concentrated poverty, concentrated crime, and poor education being intensely focused in mostly black neighborhoods (Wilson 1987,

Massey Gross and Shibuya 1994), it becomes inevitable for African Americans who seek upward mobility to separate from these conditions. Some black middle-class persons end up separating themselves from the black working class and poor because of the inextricable link between blackness and poverty (Graglia 2001). In escaping negative social conditions, they are also separating themselves from perceived blackness. Members of various minority groups tend to distance themselves from poor or working class members that perpetuate non-white behaviors (Delgado 2014). This separation can reinforce the white superiority complex of the white racial frame (Feagin 2013) and produce effects of internalized racism through class division.

Bivens (1995) describes four categories of internalized racism: decision-making, naming the problem, resources and standards. Decision-making describes people of color who agree that whites are more equipped to solve problems within one’s racial group than their own members. They are more comfortable with white leaders, than leaders of color. Naming the problem occurs when people of color place blame on victims of racism without considering how

structures play a role in life outcomes for minorities. These individuals may argue that rise in crime is the result of criminal behavior as opposed to the decline in job opportunities in majority minority communities. The lack of employment may be a catalyst for the rise in crime, yet some minorities may conclude that blacks are prone to illicit activity. Resources describe the way people of color reject notions of cooperative economics and support of minority owned businesses. Instead, they see these responses as racist and encourage people to economically support all groups regardless of race. Culturally specific institutions like Telemadrid, BET or HBCUs may be viewed as insignificant, sub standard or outdated. Standards show how people of color maintain white standards of beauty and values, while demeaning aesthetics and

traditions that are unique to their culture. White standards are deemed normal for both white and non-white members of society (Bivens 1995). These four categories are examples of the way internalized racism is illustrated in the ideas, thoughts and actions of minority groups. In my interview transcripts, I find examples of these four descriptions in order to assess the way internalized racism is carried out within black working and middle-class groups.

3.4.3 Intersectionality

Although both racialized theoretical perspectives are used to examine race and class identities among African Americans in Atlanta, I also understand that the intersection of

sexuality and gender are significant when exploring multiple social constructions. Theories such as black feminist thought and intersectionality thought provide a framework for assessing these social correlations.

Black feminist thought is a theoretical framework that accounts for the unique

experiences of women of color. It articulates the knowledge of African American women that many times get taken for granted (Collins 1989), and can be used as a form of oppression. Black

feminist thought is an ideological and practical reaction to intersecting forms of oppression explained in intersectionality (Collins 2002). While it challenges the larger systemic issues of oppression, it can also be used to find solutions when faced with both inter and intra- group conflict (Burack 2001).

Intersectionality describes the way social identities such as race, class, sexuality and gender overlap to explain discrimination and disadvantage. The sum of these experiences offers a greater understanding than simply exploring each construction in isolation (Crenshaw 1989, 1991. These mutually created features of social organization particularly shape the experiences of black women, and in turn are shaped by black women (Collins 2000 p. 299). As scholars use intersectionality to understand the way social locations inform each other, they also help readers understand how interconnecting forms of oppression can intensify existing forms of racism, sexism, etc. Patricia Hill-Collins calls this phenomenon the matrix of domination. This concept explains the overall organization of power in society and the way it intersects to reinforce oppression (Collins 2000). Intersectionality remains a significant concept in my analysis as I explore the crossroads between race, class and life in the urban south.

Intersectionality is commonly used to tackle themes that deal with multiple social identities clearly addressing gender. While intersectionality initially explored the relationship between race and gender, less attention is focused on the way its themes such as matrices of oppression, intersecting forms of domination, and social movements can be applied to the race/class dynamic. My research fills this gap by using intersectionality to understand race/class relationships without explicitly concentrating on gender. While systemic racism and internalized oppression offer a more comprehensive perspective of race and class, intersectionality and black feminist thought can also explain the specific ways overlapping social constructions may impact

the research participants and their understanding of race and class in Atlanta.

Differences in regions, identity constructions, behaviors, and class categories can create divisions within both black middle and working-class groups, though they reside in the same geographical spaces. While the vast amount of research on race and class continue to highlight the disadvantaged, some authors have dedicated their careers to changing that narrative. Still, most of the research on the black middle class is situated outside of the core South, although a large number of the black population now reside in this region. Zandria Robinson comes closer by analyzing race and class in a Post Soul City like Memphis. However, Atlanta is a city that is

very different from Memphis and is worth observing within the context of race and class. With a much larger black population, larger black academic higher educational institutions, higher percentage of black businesses and a longer history of black politics, it is evident that an examination of Atlanta can offer additional insight into this dialogue of race and class that will not be found in any other city. Unlike most of the previous cities studied, Atlanta is a place where the color of middle class is not white, but black, thus creating a reality of race and class that is different from any other major city in the United States. In order to situate this city and its intraracial conflict within the larger issues of inequality, I explore the way race and class conflict has historically impacted U.S. society as a whole. Then later, I will assess how Atlanta’s

cultural, social and geospatial structures help make it a unique testing site for race and class in our society.

3.5 Age

According to The American Freshman: Forty Year Trends, by 2006, 68.5 percent of students entering college were 18 years of age. On average, it takes a student 55 months to finish a four-year degree. Using this data, I round up and interview subjects who are equal to or over

the age of 23. This gives the subject enough time to graduate college and continue the path towards class mobility. The age range of the respondents was 23-84.

3.6 Recruitment Methods

In order to recruit respondents for my research, I created a post on social media

advertising the study. Over seventy people shared the post and I received approximately half of my participants through tags and shares on social media. This result shocked and also reminded me of how impactful and effective social media can be in recruitment efforts for social science research. Subsequently, participants would reach out to friends, colleagues and associates who would also express interest in being apart of the study. Although social media was a useful tool in recruiting participants, I noticed that because I identify as middle class, and most of my social media network was middle class, then most of the people who responded to the post were also middle class. This was a self-reflexive moment because this was the first time I realized that the people who I interact with the most on social media are mostly young, professionals who have achieved higher education and are settled in some white collar job—the black middle class. Because a majority of my social networks were a reflection of my class identity, I had to employ additional methods of recruitment in order to get a more diverse sample size. In addition to social media, I sent emails and letters to organizations and institutions that may have members and/or students that fit study requirements. This strategy is common in sociological and psychological research. Historically, the black church has been a centerfold institution for the black community and a meeting place where African Americans across classes can commune, fellowship and worship. Previous research exploring race and class, specifically in Atlanta, focuses on black churches, schools and fraternal societies as key locations for community building and identity constructions in the black community (Dorsey 2004, Warnock 2013,

Abrams 2014). There are a large number of churches in the Atlanta and metro area. I used a computer number generator to develop a random sample in order to recruit from black churches. I sent out emails to those churches in order to gain participants for my study. Also after each interview, I encourage participants to connect me with their closest church/religious

organization, social organization, fraternal group, or neighborhood association in order to begin recruiting subjects in these places. Through the churches, I was put in contact with the