Uploaded April 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Conversations about civil rights in America often center around things like violent acts, racist language, the images of black Americans that are being put forth by culture and the media, and other important issues facing the black community. Lost in the conversation is often the issue of economic racism, the type that doesn't need to speak to hold back generations from being able to achieve the American dream. This Chicago Ideas Conversation on the black middle class centered around just that issue, sharing clips from panelist Bob Herbert's eye-opening documentary "Against All Odds: The Fight for the Black Middle Class" while exploring what changes are needed on an institutional and individual level. Here, Adam Green, an Associate Professor of American History at the University of Chicago, explains how black people and their allies need to get beyond the notion that all that white people need to see is how good and capable black people are in order to let them have access to the same opportunities. To see the entire panel conversation, a must-watch for Americans of all races, go to chicagoideas.com/videos/panel-discussion-the-fight-for-the-black-middle-class
To see Bob Herbert's documentary, go to pbs.org/video/chasing-dream-against-all-odds-full-film
Conversations about civil rights in America often center around things like violent acts, racist language, the images of black Americans that are being put forth by culture and the media, and other important issues facing the black community. Lost in the conversation is often the issue of economic racism, the type that doesn't need to speak to hold back generations from being able to achieve the American dream. This Chicago Ideas Conversation on the black middle class centered around just that issue, sharing clips from panelist Bob Herbert's eye-opening documentary "Against All Odds: The Fight for the Black Middle Class" while exploring what changes are needed on an institutional and individual level. Here, Adam Green, an Associate Professor of American History at the University of Chicago, explains how black people and their allies need to get beyond the notion that all that white people need to see is how good and capable black people are in order to let them have access to the same opportunities. To see the entire panel conversation, a must-watch for Americans of all races, go to chicagoideas.com/videos/panel-discussion-the-fight-for-the-black-middle-class
To see Bob Herbert's documentary, go to pbs.org/video/chasing-dream-against-all-odds-full-film
