In the middle tier of these societies rested the native petit bourgeoisie, wedged between the laboring classes beneath them and the foreign and native operatives of capital and the officials of the state above. Their social origins were complex and intertwined. One of their bases was the "mulatto" populations of the former slave societies and the colonies. This "brown" stratum was frequently the natural issue of racial systems where privilege of position and education was sometimes bestowed by white fathers (or mothers).

Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making o…, loc. 880