The New Black Aesthetic movement was post-bourgeois, built on inherited middle-class security

Evidence

Anthologies are always interesting barometers of changes in perception, social location and market demand. I have cited some above. The increased embourgeoisement of a whole stratum of Black writers from the 1970s onwards is reflected well in the one edited by Terry McMillan, Breaking Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Fiction (New York: Penguin, 1990). In the introduction she cites Trey Ellis, who ‘has coined a phrase which he calls “The New Black Aesthetic” · (NBA) and quotes him approvingly: … ‘For the first time in our history we are producing a critical mass of college graduates who are children of college graduates themselves. — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 1438

Categorization

• DEFINE: Names and characterizes what Trey Ellis’ ‘New Black Aesthetic’ meant at its 1990 coinage.
• XREF: connects to: Colonial Black middle classes rose through property, skills, and state functionary positions — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 853; Black revolutionary consciousness formed independently of bourgeois thought and ideology; Capitalism integrated Blacks into production while shielding them from bourgeois ideology

Broader Connections

• Colonial Black middle classes rose through property, skills, and state functionary positions #complicates (0.75) — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 853
• Black revolutionary consciousness formed independently of bourgeois thought and ideology #contradicts (0.72)
• Capitalism integrated Blacks into production while shielding them from bourgeois ideology #contradicts (0.72)