Is Middle Class Out Of Reach For The Black Millennial?
Last week, I stayed up until 4am while the collection of financial struggles I'm currently dealing with came to a head: How the hell am I ever going to retire comfortably if I can barely maintain my modest little lifestyle as it stands?
Retirement has been on my mind since I turned 30.
It's probably because I have been uncomfortably unemployed for the past four months and have been entertaining some serious concerns about my professional and financial future. For some reason, nothing quite gets my tear ducts burning as much as my parents asking how my job search going and seeing those Colonial Penn commercials.
Ever since my mom retired last summer, she has spent her days puttering around in her garden and taking day trips to New Jersey shopping malls with my father. These days most of her major decisions are whether to plant the yellow or the red begonias while my father sits on the patio catching up on the latest James Patterson novel next to their sunbathing Chihuahua. All that's missing from their lives is real estate in Kissimmee, Florida. For a few minutes each visit I find myself being lowkey jealous of the fact they're an example of what retirement looks like when it goes right. They've reached a point where they can actually enjoy the fruits of their labor.
A recent study revealed I'm not completely overreacting in my worry that my financial future won't look nearly as bright as my parents'. According to the article titled How Black Middle Class Kids Become Black Lower Class Adults, published in The Atlantic earlier this year, being raised black and middle-class may not give you a head start over your peers who were raised at a lower income level. In fact, “when black families attain middle-class status, the likelihood that their children will remain there, or do better, isn't high," it reads. Considering factors such as parental income, education and family structure, black have "substantially less upward intergenerational mobility and substantially more downward intergenerational mobility than whites."
In other words, being black and born into any kind of privilege doesn't guarantee you as much of a permanent spot in middle class as it may your white counterparts.
However, the study fails to give a clear reason exactly why this is happening. Economists' best explanations are criticisms that have been the center of conversations on Americans race and wage divisions for several decades: lower educational attainment, higher rates of single-parent households and geographic segregation. Basically, on average, blacks still tend to be less educated than their white counterparts and more likely to be raised in households headed by a single parent.
Lastly that little thing that goes by the fancy label “geographic segregation" means that we are less likely to live in neighborhoods, attend school with or socialize with those involved in successful networks resulting in less exposure to educational and professional opportunities.
While economists debate over studies, statistics and fancy terminology all I can lend my opinion on is what I am currently witnessing:
Working class ain't what it used to be.
Both my parents turned their two-year degrees into 20-year careers in the medical profession, making a decent salary where they could afford to get a new car every five or six years, take their daughters on a vacation every summer and live in a neighborhood where gunshots weren't apart of the regularly scheduled program. We weren't The Huxtables, but we did OK. But OK is looking more and more intangible to me and my fellow millennials. During my job search I've noticed a very unsettling pattern of positions that lists pages and pages of qualifications that ask candidates be prepared to present everything short of a kidney and a graduate degree just to start at a salary that's barely above minimum wage.
Another challenge to today's millennials is supporting parents while attempting to build a life of your own.It seems that those of us who aren't struggling to maintain the middle class lives are parents worked hard to set up for us are sacrificing our own growth to support our parents. Just last week a friend of mine who recently hit 30 questioned her independence since student loans, being the breadwinner for mother and sister, and wanting to actually enjoy a few of the dollars she spends 40 hours each working for left her choosing between rent for an apartment and a car note. She chose the car note to get to the job that will allow her to support her mom and sisters. And so the cycle continues.
The middle class American dream is beginning to feel just like that: Something us millennials are all getting a rude awakening from.
Although I still can't help but feeling like it's taking our generation so much more to get so much less, there is good news: Growing up in a recession taught our generation that structure and stability via the government aren't guaranteed. Because of that I firmly believe millennials have been forced to get creative about getting ish done.
The way the world is set up, there's a good chance that a retirement like my parents may be very well out my reach. But whether we're getting a cosmetic company contract via a YouTube channel or turning celebrity blogging into big business, most of us have been willing to sacrifice working toward a pension via a typical 9-to-5 schedule to bigger possibilities. We are questioning the stagnant ways of the workforce as we know it one “Why not?" at a time. Millennials are the masters of efficiency, creativity and innovation, so if you think about it, maybe we're selling ourselves a little short by making middle class the goal.
Featured image by Getty Images
- The Black Middle Class Is Leaving Its Brothers And Sisters Behind ... ›
- Dear Middle Class Black People | HuffPost ›
- The stalled, struggling black middle class | Urban Institute ›
- Losing The Black Middle Class | Fortune ›
- Middle-Class Black Families, in Low-Income Neighborhoods - The ... ›
- 'Working Hard Has Never Been Enough' for a Black Middle Class ›
- Are We Talking Enough About the Black Middle Class? - Pacific ... ›
Writer, sexual health superhero, and #BlackGirlMagic and #BlackBoy curator regularly featured on @Madamenoire. Toya can usually be found in between her earbuds, listening to trap music and refreshing her browser for concert tickets. Tweet her @thetruetsharee.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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How A Stay At Switzerland's Luxurious 7132 Hotel Reminded Me To Live The Life I Deserve
Sometimes, as women—especially as single Black women—we simply need to be reminded that we are deserving of living a life we dream of. Even if that means creating it for ourselves. I recently set out on a weeklong trip to Switzerland, a trip I’ve been wanting to take for years, and near the end of my visit, I had an epiphany.
“DeAnna, this is the life you deserve,” I thought to myself as I took in the gorgeous bathroom in my suite at the famous 7132 Hotel and Thermal Spa. It was one of the most luxurious hotels (and bathrooms) I had ever stayed in—and that’s saying a lot for someone who often travels for work.
To help you better understand why this was such a mental awakening for me, I first need to give a bit of my backstory. I’m in my late thirties. I’m an attorneyand a journalist. I own a home and have traveled the world extensively. Essentially, I’ve done everything in life I set out to do. However, when it comes to dating, I struggle. Not because there is anything wrong with me per se, but because my career and “lifestyle” often create problems in my romantic relationships.
View from my hotel room
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I’ve been told everything from, ‘I can’t continue to date you because you seem to choose your career over wanting to settle down and have kids’ by a man after only the second date to ‘Maybe if you just sat down somewhere for a while, I’d actually wife you’ by someone who has honestly never proven themselves to be the settle down type. And these are only a handful of the things I’ve been told over the years.
It’s been frustrating, to say the least, and there have even been seasons where I purposely dimmed my light in hopes that my career wouldn’t push away potential suitors. I know what you’re thinking, “Girl, why would you even consider that? If they’re for you, it won’t matter what you do.” Hey, don’t judge me, but also, I one hundred percent agree.
My hotel bathroom
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That’s why this recent moment in Switzerland was right on time. When I first walked into the hotel to check in, I was blown away by the surrounding beauty. It was a five-star property with one of the world’s most famous thermal bathhouses. Yet, it was something about seeing that 90% of the hotel’s guests were couples, that forced me to sit back for a bit of introspection—while soaking in the thermal spa, of course.
As I went through the mental conversation, there was a battle of sorts. On one hand, I knew that being able to partake in experiences like the one I was having at that moment was important to me. I knew that, at times I actually love being able to dabble in the finer things—after all, I’ve worked hard to be able to afford them. On the other hand, and sadly, I knew that sometimes being a single Black woman that publicly showcases her “luxurious” habits can intimidate men and even scare them off from pursuing you under the guise of them feeling like they “can’t do anything for you, because you have everything.”
My hotel room
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So, what is a girl to do?
Do I minimize/hide the life and experiences that I have? Do I play down the hard work I’ve put in to get where I am professionally? Or, do I risk being single in exchange for being able to have said life, without backlash?
Luckily, the joy that I felt while being at this property won. There was something about taking a full day to simply pamper myself at the bathhouse and in my in-room steam shower and soaker tub, indulging in cuisine from a 2-star Michelin restaurant and doing all of this while surrounded by an amazing group of Black women that reminded me—this is certainly the life I was meant to live and that I deserve. Even if it means that right now, I’ll just have to provide it for myself until the right partner comes along. And honestly, I’m okay with that.
Restaurant at 7132 hotel
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