What I find so compelling about both the novel and film versions of Passing is its ability to complicate the dominant narrative about what Blackness was in the early 20th century, and what it continues to be today. While race was and is the dominant lens that which Black people are viewed through in the United States, the novel and movie versions of Passing introduce another intersecting and often inseparable part of the Black experience which is class. In the movie, there is a better representation of how class represents the “other” in the main character’s, Rene, life. Not only do both Rene and her husband, Brian, exist at a higher class level than what was thought of as Black life at that time, but there is even a clear divide in their own neighborhood. For example, there is a specific scene in the movie with Rene and Brian where they are traveling in the car and are commentating on the lower-class Black people in their neighborhood with an overall feeling of superiority. To me, this showcases that it is instinctual to assimilate into forms of oppression if you have access to it. Black people with a higher class standing are no exception and Rene and Brian’s interactions with the lower-class Black people around them (like the housekeeper for example) are proof of this. 

What I think this does well is highlights an often overlooked form of oppression and directly ties it to race, where both can often take the shape of one another. Even considering the time period that the movie and book are structured around, the Harlem Renaissance, we can see the intersections of race and class very clearly, and with that comes the burgeoning struggle for Black Americans at that time in dealing with both aspects of their identity. This aspect of class is one of the major and often forgotten aspects of not just the time period, but of the entirety of the Black political and social experience. The concept of intersectionality was developed to further explore the intersections of race and gender when discussing the experiences of Black women, but I think that concept is also useful when looking at these two distinct parts of the Black identity: race and class. 

When we place these two concepts back in the time period of the Harlem Renaissance, it becomes clear what Passing’s intentions were in dropping these subtle moments of class discrepancies into the movie and novel. In the Harlem Renaissance chapter of “The SAGE Encyclopedia of Economics and Society (Vol. 2. )” by Jayne R. Beilke, it explores the concept of “The New Negro,” developed by Alain Locke, whose goal was “to transform and reinvent the psychology and identity of the New Negro, and that core was Harlem.” (844) This source highlights the intent of the Harlem Renaissance, and the New Negro movement in particular, which was the re-invention of the perception of Black people in America. A key part of this re-invention was the cementing of a significant Black middle-class population.  

Applying this knowledge to Passing, the idea that class is used as a way for the Black upper-middle-class to distance themselves, and in some instances, even wield it as another tool of oppression is an interesting one. I think those scenes, especially in the film adaptation of the book, serve to amplify an often overlooked effect that class had on driving discords in the community. I also think that it’s important to note that Passing takes a look at this issue during a time period when this noticeable class divide was in its infancy. The newness of the established Black upper classes in the United States, adds another layer to understanding Rene and Brian’s actions toward the lower-class Black people around them.

 

Sources:

Beilke, Jayne R. “Harlem Renaissance.” The SAGE Encyclopedia of Economics and Society, edited by Frederick F. Wherry and Juliet Schor, vol. 2, SAGE Reference, 2015, pp. 843-846. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX6279200334/GVRL?u=cuny_baruch&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=58708a6f. Accessed 17 May 2022.