Franklin Frazier, the "Black Bourgeoisie" played an important role for African American Negros. Frazier's study led him to the significant of "Negro Business" and its impact on the black middle class. Education was a major social factor responsible for emergence of the Black bourgeoisie. Some "bourgeois ideas" that was found in the education of the Freedmen included the teachings in the south of the Yankee virtues of industry and thrift. Schools in the North were supported by Protestant church organizations, so they sought to instill in their students the current ideals of Puritan morality. The motivation that guided the missionaries and philanthropists in their approach to educating the freedmen was the ideal of industrial education which included the training of labor workers. Booker T. Washington embraced this ideal making him a prominent figure that was well respected by many whites. The "talented tenth" did not wind up fulfilling Du Bois' vision because it consisted of Negros being educational experts in order to lead their race from the contamination. This way of teaching went against the teachings of industrial education because it taught Blacks how to think for themselves and to excel beyond the industrial field. "Industrial" education was made to instill in the students a spirit of humility and an acceptance of their inferior status. .
The Black middle class is composed of white collar workers and since the small business enterprises are insignificant in the American economy their political powers are very limited. The most important institution in which the Negro has built in the United States is the Negro Church. Factors that affected the denomination of the churches in which the Black middle class takes membership are because of their social status, and because of the financial advantages. Many Black professionals have continued their membership in the Methodist and Baptist churches because of their clients, and as they move up the social ladder they tend to seek affiliation with the Episcopal, Congregational, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches.