Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class

Rating:
Summary: A Sad Imitation of Life
Review: After snagging a copy of this book approximately four days ago, I've vascillated between being fascinated and amused by the pursuits of the "black elite" and simultaeously being thoroughly disgusted by their "us" and "them" view of every aspect of life. Graham's research on the subject is exhaustive-- that's probably because he is a member of the club (no pun intended). He provides insight into a segment of the black population that the majority of americans are unaware of. It is gratifying to know that even in the face of segregation, Jim Crow laws and rampant poverty there were members of the black population having debutante balls and organizations that would rival those created by the WASPy, old-guard that most are familiar with. Those profiled have always valued educational excellence (as the majority of the black population has), upward mobility, and financial security. However, this is where my pleasure with the subject ends.

Because of his "inside track" with the black elite, Graham was made privy to innumerable comments about the group's affinity for lighter complexioned, straight-haired professionals in the community. Surprisingly, these comments aren't just made by the older, more conservative members of the group. These qualities are still prized as symbols of being one of "them". All of us who have succeeded, but don't come from the "right" backgrounds (educationally or socially) will apparently always be relegated to the lower caste.

So I'm torn between loving and hating the subject matter. While the accomplishments of those profiled are impressive and would make anyone proud, their perspective on life, and in particular those "other" members of the race, leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth (and it's not sour grapes). Kudos to Graham for exploring the topic and being honest about the motivations and opinions of those profiled. However, the book makes me think that the black elite are living a sad imitation of life--mimicking arcane social behaviors and mores modeled on the traditions of the white old guard, a group which still wants to remain as far away from blacks (regardless of their social, financial and educational status) as possible.

Rating:
Summary: obnoxious and sterotyping subject matter
Review: This book is a poor excuse for a view inside the Black Upper Class. While some comments and descriptions were true, the content was to the point of being ridculous and embarrassing. I speak from experience having been a member of many of the organizations mentioned in the book.

Rating:
Summary: "Notes of a wannabe bourgie"
Review: The most apt title for this book should have been "Notes of a Wannabe Bourgie", in that Graham spends most of the book trying to impress the reader with what he thinks he knows about the black upper class. America's largely invisible black upper class can be found in the places where Graham and his ilk are not. Graham may have his white editors fooled (What, after all, do THEY know about this?), but certain of us recognize his distasteful imposture for exactly what it is.

Rating:
Summary: Misses the mark entirely
Review: If the author were truly the "insider" he claims to be, then he would know that the black upper-class handed over Oak Bluffs and Sag Harbor years ago to various and sundry "celebrities", athletes, riff-raff with money, and petty arrivistes (such as the author himself) some thirty to forty years ago. We now summer in Maine, Nova Scotia, Tuscany, Sardinia, Provence, St. Paul de Vence, St. Tropez, Montreux, Lake Como, and other such places. Oak Bluffs and Sag Harbor are now overrun with crass, nouveau types who think that because they've made a little money, they're automatically "upper class". Yes, the party continues, but the venues have radically changed. The author is about one generation behind the curve.

Rating:
Summary: A revelation of the worst kind
Review: I approached this book expecting to detest it, and Mr. Graham did not disappoint me. The book is less an exposition of the black upper-class than a revealing look at the author's shameless social climbing and near pathological need to be accepted by certain people. Larry Graham comes across time and again as a guy who "knows his forks" - a fact he trumpets so often that the reader is tempted to send him a fast wire declaring "We heard you the first ten times!" Is he trying to convince himself that HE belongs? It seems so. On another note, Graham makes the critical error of assuming that an Ivy League pedigree in some way confers the desired "upper class" status on its holder. Thirty or forty years ago, this may have been true, but no longer. Why? Because now, ANYBODY can get into these places. Finally, Larry Graham appears to be nothing more than the consummate parvenu, the desperate staus-seeker, the name dropper, the wannabe snob. The black organizations (Jack and Jill, the Links, Boule) that he exalts are not nearly what they used to be, largely because their memberships are not what they once were. Again, ANYBODY can get into these clubs nowadays. If I were Larry Graham, I'd be embarrassed to have my name on this book, which should never have been written, much less published.

Rating:
Summary: Redundant, shallow and silly
Review: Lawrence O. Graham, a wannabe who had a nose job so he wouldn't look "too negroid", presents a book that had already been written some thirty years ago by Gerri Major, the society editor of Ebony Magazine. His endless accounts of cotillions, parties and summer watering-holes is tiresome at best. These people are as extinct as dodo birds and count for nothing in the broader scheme of things, a fact Mr. Graham would know if he were not so busy "foolishly looking up" - and backward in time. An article in The New York Times Sunday Magazine would have been sufficient, but a whole book devoted to this tripe? It is abundantly clear that Mr. Graham continues to act out the role of the parvenu, standing on the outside with his "new" nose pressed against the window, yet pretending that he was to the manor born. This book is a terminally silly one, and should never have been written.

Rating:
Summary: A Humorous Tome
Review: This book was hilarious! It reads like something written 100 years ago. As a Berkeley,California raised Black woman, I find these views of "class" and skin tone bizarre at best and totally pathetic all around. This reminds me of a story about a club called the Blue Vein Society that members of my family were asked to join in the 50's. The entry requirements? You had to be light enough to see the veins in your arms! I'm not making this up, it was an actual organization! I thought attitudes like the ones expressed in Mr. Graham's book were as extinct as that dumb club.

I'm very fair-skinned with green eyes and long hair, and I'm what is fondly known of as a BAP (Black American Princess), because my parents provided a wonderful childhood for me. However, this did not include Jack and Jill, the Links, etc., because we laughed at pretentious people that joined these organizations. I socialized with people of all nationalities and hues (this is Berkeley, after all). At no point in my life have I ever feel better than any other Black person simply because I'm light. Why? Anyone with a modicum of common sense would never judge another simply by looks possessions, or background. That excludes people with Mr. Graham's warped perspective, of course. "Our kind of people," indeed! Not mine - I'm ashamed to know there are still African-Americans with slave mentalities running around spreading their prejudiced views.

I'm sure Bill Cosby, Michael Jordan, Diana Ross, etc., weep into their pillows every night because they're not accepted by the "Old Guard." Hah!

Rating:
Summary: This Book Is Well Written and Very Real
Review: As an attorney in my early 30s, I have heard my parents (who are also professionals) talk about the black "elite" many, many times. I grew up with their children and, to some extent, I have shared in many of the activities of the black elite. However, my mother, a dark-skinned woman, really didn't believe in that type of elitism, because she (being in her late 50s/early 60s in age) was discriminated against by those "brown-paper-bag test passing" elites on a DAILY basis. But we still went to country day schools, private schools, lived in exclusive areas, belonged to organizations like Jack and Jill, the Deltas, the Alphas, the Prince Hall Masons, etc. Lawrence Otis Graham's book is real. It made me proud to actually read a part of black history in this country that is long-overdue--that is, the history of our people ACHIEVING against ALL odds--slavery, Jim Crow, segregation in the North, etc. That aspect of the book is great. Also, it's interesting to read so much about the organizations that I participated in as a child, or the organizations that my parents belong to, from another perspective. I guess that I took "my world" a little for granted, and I never really questioned it until I was nearly out of high school. All in all, excellence is what we should all be striving for. We are known for being athletes and entertainers. It was refreshing to read about our accomplishments other than the stories about Benjamin Banneker, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Dr. King, and so forth. Not to diminish their contributions, but to say that there are more black American achievers and contributors to society other than Dr. King and the usual ones that are quoted in the white published history books. A sad part of the book was the rampant color-based elitism. This type of elitism still exists today, but I believe that it's not as divisive. I think we've all gotten a little smarter, knowing that white folks are still laughing at us...all the way to the bank. Kudos to Lawrence Otis Graham for writing this book. I also liked Member of the Class.

Rating:
Summary: Informative and Eye Opening
Review: This book was very informative and gave an up close look into the lives of the some upper classed african americans. I think this book was a true look into that culture from the eyes of someone living it. The contraditions the author makes in his book is a clear indication that the elitists know that some of their practices are not okay yet they don't care. This is the society they chose to live in and in America that is okay. No, I would not want to be a part of that society, but the author makes it clear that you have to be born into the society and that no matter how much money you make, one cannot just join. This book will give you a better understanding into that culture and either you appreciate the insight or not.

Rating:
Summary: self-hating stereotypes, materialistic, grand-standing
Review: At first glance I understood Lawrence Otis Graham's treatment " Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class" to be an insider's attempt at examining the historic base and current state of racism and class-ism within the African-American community. I applaud Mr. Graham for putting this effort together. It is not an easy thing writing a book, whether deemed good or bad. However I was disappointed to find it a body of highly subjective affirmations of stereotypes, fawning over symbols of material affluence, and rife with blatant attempts by Mr. Graham to elevate his own personal stature in the eyes of his "black elite". He details with painstaking accuracy the excesses and foibles of successful black families in a variety of locations, capriciously lauding the actions of some while condemning others. He prefaces the book in a condescending voice describing his encounter with the late Reginald Lewis, then proceeds to recite personal anecdotes laced with stereotypes that are [unfortunately] a very real part of the black experience in America. I am saddened by the almost adoring voice he takes when recounting intra-racial prejudices I hoped we as a people had moved beyond. As a Howard man I am flattered [sort of] by his opinion of my school, but disappointed in his critical omission of any [by his definition] "lesser" historically black college and university or non-Ivy League institution. Education has been the defining mark of successful members of our community. I regret that Mr. Graham's definition of acceptable achievement is limited to just a few institutions. Mr. Graham makes note of the Greek system's commitment to the black community, but dismisses it by accusing them of being elitist on the basis of skin complexion and economic status. My family has a long tradition in the Black Greek system and are represented in four of its fraternities and three of its sororities. We come in all sizes, complexions, and economic distributions - simply put, the only use found for "brown bags" in our family were for bringing in groceries and taking out the trash! The true mark of an aristocracy is not in their material successes or accomplishments, but in their ability to uplift their people and improve the society at-large's overall quality of life. I pray that we as a people never feel so full of ourselves that we forget we are no better than the least of our brethren. I welcome works like "Our Kind of People" as they insight dialogue that inspires better understanding of ourselves. As Mr. Graham has shown, we have not exocised all of the demons of our past and there is much work still to be done.