My father was a middle class black

My father was a middle class black Though he was borm poor, he achieved middle class standing throughmuch hard work and sacrifice (one of his favorite words) and by identifying fully with solid middle classvalues- mainly hard work, family life, property ownership, and education for his children (all four of whomhave advanced degrees). In his mind these were not so much values as laws of nature. People who embodiedthem made up the positive images in his class identification. The negative images came largely from the blackshe had left behind because they were“going nowhere.