Our people
LAWRENCE OTIS GRAHAM: Our Kind of PeopleI: Inside America's Black Upper Class (5 .5 pp) Through six years of interviews with more than three hundred prominent families and individuals, journalist and commentator Lawrence Otis Graham weaves together the revealing stories and fascinating experiences of upper-class blacks who grew up with privilege and power. Previously known for his provocative New York magazine expose of elite golf clubs, when he left his law firm and went undercover as a busboy at an all-white Connecticut country club, Graham now turns his attention to the black elite. Bibliography lists 2 sources. BBblkeli.doc LAWRENCE OTIS GRAHAM: Our Kind of People Inside America's Black Upper Class Written by Barbara Babcock for the Paperstore, Inc., July 2000 Debutante cotillions. Arranged marriages. Summer trips to Martha's Vineyard. All-black boarding schools. Memberships in the Links, Deltas, Boule, or Jack and Jill. Million-dollar homes. An obsession with good hair, light complexions, top credentials, and colleges like Howard, Spelman, and Harvard. This is the world of the black upper class, exclusive, mostly hidden group that lives awkwardly between
I can readily acknowledge that this book examines the history and experiences of an elevated black society, and yet also is exploring larger societal issues such as racial, ethnic and religious elitism. Sometimes gossipy and always touching, Graham visits and profiles upper-class families and institutions in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, D. I know that there are others who do not live as I do, but there is a part of me that doesn't care. Weaving together these stories, with his own first-person narrative, one that tells of his childhood experiences in black elite social clubs and of wealthy family friends who "passed" for white in order to gain access to better jobs, Graham reveals a group that has been simultaneously heroic, snobbish, generous, and ambitious - just like the rest of the world. Contents Through six years of interviews with more than three hundred prominent families and individuals, journalist and commentator Lawrence Otis Graham weaves together the revealing stories and fascinating experiences of upper-class blacks who grew upwith privilege and power. I do not need to feel guilty about that decision, and have chosen instead to save basic guilt issues for my relationship with my mother. This class sets itself apart with their clubs, their fraternities, and their sororities,while looking skeptically at any outsiders who can never make the grade. His is less of a critical examination and more of a glossary of people, places, and things constituting the black upper class. Yet his contemporary savvy matters less, in the end, than does his appetite for historical detail. Previously known for his provocative New York magazine expose of elite golf clubs, when he left his law firm and went undercover as a busboy at an all-white Connecticut country club, Graham now turns his attention to the black elite. Graham, an insider and attorney,knows it well. Conclusion/Personal thoughts about this book(to the student-if your personal opinion differs from the one given here-this is the place that it is inserted and this example is removed. Acknowledging those bits and pieces of ourselves that we actually, truthfully see does not seem as though it should be a negative thing, let along a bad thing.
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Acceptance Essays
