“Cassi Pittman Claytor’s Black Privilege brings rich ethnographic detail to the study of the Black middle class. Showing both the opportunities and restrictions of Black cultural expression and consumption, Claytor expands our understanding of the workings of privilege by underlying the necessity of considering how it is racialized.”

“With compelling storytelling and exciting theoretical insights, Pittman Claytor addresses an understudied topic from a unique and creative perspective. A must-read for anyone interested in understanding how race operates in the marketplace.”

“Black Privilege is a welcome addition to contemporary research on the US Black middle class. What sets it apart is that it treats the marketplace as a mainstage on which members of the Black middle-class act out their joys and challenges in everyday life. It focuses our attention on how these actors deploy their skills, tastes, and practices – their Black cultural capital – sometimes just to survive and at others to thrive. ”

“A common view of consumption is that it is a source of alienation for blacks. Cassi Pittman Claytor’s incisive portrait of consumption among those who are black and privileged challenges us to rethink this view. In an engaging style, Pittman Claytor shows how consumption is a resource for middle-class blacks as they navigate a world where race still matters. Black Privilege is an important and necessary addition to the literature on consumption and inequality.”