A literature survey is undertaken for the purpose of identifying and examining cultural differences between black and white Americans, with a major focus upon the black lower-class Northern urban-dweller. Major emphasis is placed upon the institutions of the Negro family and religion, as being moderator variables which help to account for various aspects of the black culture and which are in part a reflection of the culture. Some of the areas of culture difference emphasized are the problem of identity and many of the values associated with work and the Protestant Ethic and puritanism: the value of work as an end in itself, the importance of time, attitude toward authority, lack of competitiveness, ability to defer gratification, and lack of motivation to increase education and income, The second part of the paper examines the literature relevant to social class distribution and the role of skin color and other criteria of social class membership. Value difference between members of the various Negro social classes are also looked at. The paper stresses the importance of empirical verification of the findings reported in the presence of a highly dynamic change process taking place within the black community. Investigating the problem of whether the problems of the Negro are of a class or of a race type requires multi-variable approaches. (Author/JM)