Introduction

As Karyn R. Lacy's innovative work in the suburbs of Washington, DC, reveals, there is a continuum of middle-classness among blacks, ranging from lower-middle class to middle-middle class to upper-middle class.

Focus on Middle-Class Blacks

Focusing on the latter two, Lacy explores an increasingly important social and demographic group: middle-class blacks who live in middle-class suburbs where poor blacks are not present.

Characteristics of "Blue-Chip Black" Suburbanites

These "blue-chip black" suburbanites earn well over fifty thousand dollars annually and work in predominantly white professional environments.

Identity and Social Interactions

Lacy examines the complicated sense of identity that individuals in these groups craft to manage their interactions with lower-class blacks, middle-class whites, and other middle-class blacks as they seek to reap the benefits of their middle-class status.