--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's no question that the black middle…" description: "\"There's no question that the black middle class has benefited greatly by the civil rights movement. But there is a large black underclass that does not..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/betty-friedan-3185_access_there-s-no-question-that-the-black-middl_1524669.jpg" --- # There's no question that the black middle class has… ![“There's no question that the black middle class has benefited greatly by the civil rights movement. But there is a large black underclass that does not have access to jobs. If there's no clear road to income and status except crime, we should expect social problems. You can't solve this problem…” quote by Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/betty-friedan-3185_access_there-s-no-question-that-the-black-middl_1524669.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/betty-friedan-3185_access_there-s-no-question-that-the-black-middl_1524669.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/betty-friedan-3185_access_there-s-no-question-that-the-black-middl_1524669.jpg) > “There's no question that the black middle class has benefited greatly by the civil rights movement. But there is a large black underclass that does not have access to jobs. If there's no clear road to income and status except crime, we should expect social problems. You can't solve this problem without addressing the economic issues, and the same is true with gender.” [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The black middle class benefits from civil rights, yet a large black underclass lacks jobs, leading to crime and social problems that intersect with gender issues. **In simple terms:** Economic inequality persists despite civil‑rights gains. Key Takeaway Address economic disparities to reduce crime. Themes economic inequality civil rights gender social justice Mood urgent concerned Type social political When to use this quote - policy reform - education - community development - employment programs Key Concepts structural racism labor markets intersectionality Questions to Reflect On - What policies can bridge the job gap for the underclass? - How do gender and race intersect in economic opportunity? A Different Perspective Economic solutions alone may not fix cultural or systemic biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Access](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/access/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black Underclass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-underclass-1110983/) [Civil Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-right/) [Civil rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) [Civil rights movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Class Benefited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-benefited-5643733/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Economic issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-issues/) [Gender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Income](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rights movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-movement/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-problems/) [Solve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solve/) ## Related quotes > [The most ironic outcome of the black Civil Rights movement has been the creation of a new black middle class which is increasingly separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/the-most-ironic-outcome-of-the-black-civil-rights-movement-has-been/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [It's sad, the enslavement of the black underclass to designer labels - we're an age that cares more about Versace than Vermeer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/it-s-sad-the-enslavement-of-the-black-underclass-to-designer-labels/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The black middle-class in America is a prosperous community that is now larger in absolute terms than the black underclass. 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Houston was a segregated society, as was Texas as a whole - some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/covering-the-civil-rights-movement-was-a-mind-and-eye-opener-for-me/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [I took an interest in the Civil Rights Movement. I listened to Martin Luther King. The Vietnam War was raging. 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