Our people essays

Our people essays 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 expos 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, Boul, 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 white America and mainstream black America. 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 expos 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. Simply looking at the table of contents gives an overview of this quiet class of privilege: The Origins of the Black Upper Class; Jack and Jill...