The New Noir : Race, Identity, and Diaspora in Black Suburbia

The expansion of the Black American middle class and the unprecedented increase in the number of Black immigrants since the 1960s have transformed the cultural landscape of New York. In __The New Noir__, Orly Clerge explores the richly complex worlds of an extraordinary generation of Black middle class adults who have migrated from different corners of the African diaspora to suburbia. The Black middle class today consists of diverse groups whose ongoing cultural, political, and material ties to the American South and Global South shape their cultural interactions at work, in their suburban neighborhoods, and at their kitchen tables. Clerge compellingly analyzes the making of a new multinational Black middle class and how they create a spectrum of Black identities that help them carve out places of their own in a changing 21st-century global city. Paying particular attention to the largest Black ethnic groups in the country, Black Americans, Jamaicans, and Haitians, Clerge’s ethnography draws on over 80 interviews with residents to examine the overlooked places where New York’s middle class resides in Queens and Long Island. This book reveals that region and nationality shape how the Black middle class negotiates the everyday politics of race and class. The expansion of the Black American middle class and the unprecedented increase in the number of Black immigrants since the 1960s have transformed the cultural landscape of New York.

In The New Noir, Orly Clerge explores the richly complex worlds of an extraordinary generation of Black middle class adults who have migrated from different corners of the African diaspora to suburbia. The Black middle class today consists of diverse groups whose ongoing cultural, political, and material ties to the American South and Global South shape their cultural interactions at work, in their suburban neighborhoods, and at their kitchen tables. Clerge compellingly analyzes the making of a new multinational Black middle class and how they create a spectrum of Black identities that help them carve out places of their own in a changing 21st-century global city.

Paying particular attention to the largest Black ethnic groups in the country, Black Americans, Jamaicans, and Haitians, Clerge’s ethnography draws on over 80 interviews with residents to examine the overlooked places where New York’s middle class resides in Queens and Long Island. This book reveals that region and nationality shape how the Black middle class negotiates the everyday politics of race and class.
  "The expansion of the black middle class and the unprecedented increase in the number of immigrants among them since the 1960s has transformed the black cṳ̤ltural geography of New York. In The New Noir, urban sociologist Orly Clerge uncovers the complex social worlds of an extraordinary generation of black middle class adults from different corners of the African Diaspora. Clerge demonstrates that the black middle class' ongoing ties with the American and Global South has influenced the local businesses, organizations, and kitchen tables of their suburbs. With particular attention to the largest black ethnic groups in the U.S.--Black Americans, Jamaicans, and Haitians--Clerge takes us on a journey into the hidden places on Queens and Long Island and reveals the ways in which region and nationality shape how the black middle class negotiates diasporic encounters, the politics of blackness, and class mobility. In their social interactions with one another and in everyday life, they stir up local social hierarchies and cultivate a spectrum of black identities, which help them cultivate belonging in a changing 21st global city. As the first ethnographic work on the multiethnic black middle class, The New Noir is a groundbreaking exploration of race, place, and immigrant experience today"--Provided by publisher "The expansion of the black middle class and the unprecedented increase in the number of immigrants among them since the 1960s has transformed the black cultural geography of New York. In The new noir, urban sociologist Orly Clerge uncovers the complex social worlds of an extraordinary generation of black middle class adults from different corners of the African Diaspora. Clerge demonstrates that the black middle class' ongoing ties with the American and Global South has influenced the local businesses, organizations, and kitchen tables of their suburbs. With particular attention to the largest black ethnic groups in the U.S.--Black Americans, Jamaicans, and Haitians--Clerge takes us on a journey into the hidden places on Queens and Long Island and reveals the ways in which region and nationality shape how the black middle class negotiates diasporic encounters, the politics of blackness, and class mobility. In their social interactions with one another and in everyday life, they stir up local social hierarchies and cultivate a spectrum of black identities, which help them cultivate belonging in a changing 21st global city. As the first ethnographic work on the multiethnic black middle class, The New Noir is a groundbreaking exploration of race, place, and immigrant experience today"--Provided by publisher