Aristocrats of Color-
             I was always aware that racism existed and still exists. However, I was unaware that racism existed within a "race". I had no clue what so ever that the Aristocrats of Color in the 1800s-1900s strived to be white. They discriminated against the blacks and even had black slaves! This book caught me off guard and showed me a different kind of reality that I never knew existed. The fact that a white man wrote Aristocrats of Color was even more surprising.
             Some quotes that I read I found somewhat appalling. Such as," I believed him to be a noble negro." That is the same as saying all the other "negros" are unworthy. "The tendency was to classify blacks as "good Negros" and "bad Negros" or to designate, for one reason or another, certain black individuals and families as exceptional. But even exceptional blacks were inferior to whites."
             When I looked at the pictures of the elite aristocrats they looked to be almost pure white. "There existed a black elite, small in number and light in complexion, whose culture and style of living more closely resembled that of the better class of whites than that if their darker brethren." I assumed before reading this book that the Black Elite's goal was to help the other blacks and bring them out of a state of poverty. The Black Aristocrats could care less about the other blacks. In fact, the black elite did not even like or associate with other blacks that were not aristocrats themselves. "They have very little to do with the mass of colored citizens except in a business way or by making speeches or addresses to them. Socially they have nothing to do with their brethren as if they were white." The masses of colors were not stupid and they soon figured out the agenda of the Aristocrats. "The colored people do not feel identified with th
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