Abstract

URREA GIRALDO, Fernando. The Gradual Formation of a Black Middle Class in Cali and Bogotá During the Twentieth Century and the First Decade of the Twenty-First Century. rev.estud.soc. [online]. 2011, n.39, pp.24-41. ISSN 0123-885X.

After a brief review of the concept of the middle class in the English and French sociological literature, the article analyzes the integration of the Afro-Colombian population within this heterogeneous social group over a 100-year period (and, briefly, since the mid-nineteenth century with regard to the case of Cartagena). The literature shows that one of the main characteristics of this social group is the acquisition of undergraduate and graduate university degrees, first in the liberal professions and then as highly-educated professional employees. The article focuses on regions in the country with historically high concentrations of Black people - the city of Cartagena, the Department of Chocó, and the region of northern Cauca - and on selective migration to major cities for secondary and university education. It shows how these patterns evolved with regard to the kinds of university degrees studied, the participation of women, different regional dynamics between Cali and Bogota, and how an increasingly important Black middle class emerged in both cities. The article then highlights the particularities of Cali and the Cauca Valley with respect to the type of firms that located there during the period dominated by import substitution policies. Finally, through a comparison to the United States, the results are analyzed with respect to the relationship between race and social class among the Black Colombian middle class.

Keywords : Middle Class; Black Population; Generations; University Degrees.

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