Margo Jefferson Explores Black Elite In Memoir ‘Negroland’

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August 24th, 2016

As black abolitionists fought for emancipation, some black Americans were slave holders.

This contradiction is just one in the complicated history of the black elite, which has attracted much commentary throughout American history.

W.E.B. Du Bois called them the talented tenth, the leaders responsible for ensuring civil rights for all African-Americans. But later in the 20th century, that same “talented tenth” was chastised, by many, for being a frivolous class of bourgeoisie

Critic Margo Jefferson has added her perspective on privileged African-Americans, and she provides this criticism through the lens of her own upbringing in upper-class black Chicago. Her poignant, incisive memoir, “Negroland,” travels from critiques of historical narratives to meditations on her parents and on her severe depression in adulthood. It also delves into the complexities of privilege and how it is dependent not just on race but gender, class, family and temperament.

Jefferson knew that the title “Negroland” could be questionable for some, but she developed the term from a historical understanding of word usage in the early to mid-20th century.

“’Negro’ capitalized was the word that aspiring, accomplished, racially conscious blacks — as we now say — chose and wanted,” she said. “I was brought up very much in the presence of that word.”

You can hear much more about the memoir in the interview above. 

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