Tracking the Black elite
The black elite: Who’s in? Who’s out? Who cares?
Controversy swirls around upcoming book chronicling leading families
By ERNIE SUGGS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lawrence Otis Graham gets the question all the time.
“Are you bougie?”
For the uninitiated, the word is derived from “bourgeois,” and it’s gained currency in the black culture, both as a compliment or as an insult for those aspiring to a higher class.
As a black man with degrees from Princeton and Harvard who uses “summer” as a verb to explain what he does on Martha’s Vineyard, and who has written extensively about society and class, Graham is used to the question.
“Do I think that there are people who call me that? Yes,” Graham said. “But bougie is middle-class, and I have risen beyond that. I would be lying if I described myself as bougie.”
No matter what you call him, Graham knows how to spark a debate.
Graham is touring the country for a series of interviews for his upcoming book, “The Our Kind of People 800 Register.”
It will be the first national directory of the richest and most socially elite black families and people in America.
Graham said the book is a natural sequel to his “Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class,” which looked at the history and traditions of the black elite. He said the new book, due this fall, is an attempt to do what whites have done, which is identify and catalog their social elite.
“The first book talked about the lifestyle,” he said. “But many people said, ‘You neglected to mention the so-and-so family in Charleston.’ So, let me tell you who they are and how they got their money. I am going city by city, family by family, credential by credential.”
Oprah Winfrey, Black Enterprise Publisher Earl Graves and Johnson Publishing’s Linda Johnson Rice likely will make the list.
Russell Simmons, Michael Jordan and Tyler Perry, three of the richest black men in America, probably won’t.
Atlanta’s Usher or Jermaine Dupri? Don’t even think about it. A headline in a recent press release announcing the book read: “Who’s In: Black Doctors, Lawyers, Bankers & Rich Socialites; Who’s Out: Baby Mamas, Basketballers & Ghetto Rap Stars.”
“I know it is going to upset people, but I have an important goal in mind, ” Graham said in a recent interview. “This is about more than finding the 800. I am also trying to address the negative images that seem to pervade the media and mind-set. The only black success stories we seem to want to embrace are athletes, comedians and entertainers.”
Which creates this paradox: While Black Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson might make it, Jay-Z, whose music helped build the BET empire, will not.
“People like Oprah and Bill Cosby shouldn’t be compared to Jay-Z and Beyonce,” Graham said. “While all the people on the list will be millionaires and billionaires, it is also about where did you go to school? Who are you married to? What med school did your granddaddy go to?” (more…)
Personally, I do not have a problem with the mission behind this book. There are success stories out there where Black families have managed to build their wealth and pass it along to their offspring who have also inherited the wisdom on how to build and manage it. ‘New money’ stories are flaunted all the time on channels like VH1 or MTV covering folks who in many cases have not demonstrated the ability to pass their wealth to their offspring outside of alimony or child support. The other source of criticism this author is facing I believe stems from a fear exposing this kind on information to Whites as if it could threaten the narrative that Blacks collectively are still bound to the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. What I especially find very ironic about the negative shots the author is taking over this book is that some of the same Black folks who are not feeling this book are oftentimes the same ones that will accuse Whites for suppressing this type of information regarding our history.
About time something like this is being added to the mix. I am so tired of thumbing through books in the African-American section of bookstores or the library that oftentimes sports a cover featuring a sad or angry image of a Black individual. Lawd knows we do not need another book about slavery.
This subject strikes a nerve with me. I don’t personally belong to this “upper class”, but I distinctly remember my mother me telling how life was with the black upper crust in Charleston, SC (where she’s originally from) and there own social strata circa 1930/40s. My grandmother blended in somehow (probably due to skin color mostly). Black folk took on massa’s ways and made it theirs, I guess.
Comment by penny | January 10, 2008
I am really excited about this book. I love the line about the bourgeoisie being middle class and that he was above that. It always bothered me that in our culture we refereed to the biddle class as uppity and bougie. IN America middle class means of average income. To refer to people of average income as bougie is to say that that is our upper class. We need to make sure that our youth know that there is another level that they can achieve that is beyond sports and entertainment that they can shoot for. The idea that we have to suppress our success because if white people know that we can rise above the cripplings of Jim Crow and slavery is in it of itself a product of slavery. Back then we could not let “massa” (as penny put it) know we could read today we can’t let him know that we can succeed. When are we going to stop letting massa dictate our actions? I was at real estate seminar where the host said that he met an elderly lady once that was worried about taking his advice because if she made that much money the would stopl letting her draw on social security. She rejected being a millionaire to hold on to a small social security check from the government. I will never understand this way of thinking.
Comment by Lionel Carter | January 10, 2008
The Black Elite in the USA have a avery big problem that they truly need to overcome before they can truly be consider “Elite”. The one major difference between wealthy blacks in America and other ethnic groups is simply that wealthy blacks have little to no influence other the rest of their people. This is an old argument but lets have a run at it again today.
Members of other ethnic groups are more likely to be employed by another member of their own ethnic group. In NYC you will find Asians work for Asians, Indians work for Indians, Latinos work for Latinos and needless to say Whites work for Whites. The top members of the other ethnic groups that manage to provide jobs and “lives” for lower members of their ethnic groups are the ELITES. They have earned the respect of their people and infuse their communities with money and POWER!
The question we need to ask is, can most of the balck folks that Lawrence Otis Graham speaks of actually be considered truly Elite? Since many of them do not employee or even interact with rank and file black folks who are they elite to? Is this eliteness due to the fact that they have managed to acquire wealth without power?
The way I see it if you do NOT control the police in your community you have absolutely no right calling yourself “elite”. When you are in a position were you are scared to speak your mind because you might have your so-called elite status revoked, you are not elite.
When you live in a community in which you are all but isolated from the rest of your race you are not elite.
Farts, Soroieties, Coming out balls, Social clubs, Ivy league schooling, and money, etc DO NOT make you elite. POWER and CONTROL over your community makes you elite.
This argument brings us back to Bill Cosby’s statements of recently. While many appluaded him for his “poor black people’s values ” rant. I somehow see it a bit differently. Good ole Bill is embarassed by the behavior of poor balck folks. They make him look bad! The problem is as a very wealthy blackman Bill Cosby does not see his responsiblity in this problem. If he is an “Elite” it is his responsiblity to be a leader/ employer to his people. THAT IS WHAT ELITE PEOPLE DO!
You can own a home on the lilly white upper-east side of manhattan and than want to complain about those poor blacks in Harlem and the Bronx that you DO NOT want to lead.
When I can get a paycheck signed by a black elite and when I can write my rent check to one of these “Elite” black folks than maybe I will understand Grahams point of view. Until then many of these “elites” are just softer verisons of Jay-Z.
Comment by Give it a rest | January 11, 2008
I found Our Kind of People very interesting, if for no other reason than I’m very close friends with a member of one of the families Graham profiled. At that time, I thought the book told a story that’s rarely told — that there is a Black ‘elite’ of college-educated, white collar professionals (i.e.; doctors, educators, engineers, attorneys, etc.) and their families.
But I’m a little disappointed with Graham creating a social registry, with all due respect to his intentions. Presuming that he’ll be consistent, neither a Bill Cosby or an Oprah Winfrey would qualify for they a) didn’t graduate from so-called ‘top tier’ schools and, b) did not grow up as children of professional parents. Neither are they ‘professionals’ (although one could credit Cosby’s doctorate in education). There’s also the matter of a social registry implying a high moral character that is problematic at best.
Comment by MIB | January 11, 2008
I read the first Our Kind of People and was actually happy to see the struggles that often times lead to successes in his book. What I was not happy about is the false sense of superiority that the author and his subjects allowed themselves to leave as legacies for their children. Just as “Give It A Rest” states,
“When you are in a position were you are scared to speak your mind because you might have your so-called elite status revoked, you are not elite.” How is it that these people truly are elite. I think that some of it is actually snobbery because he’s right. Have these “elite” had a positive effect on anyone but their own families? Do they positively impact the communities in which other Blacks live or are they just the run of the mill rich people with no substance.
Comment by Solacious | January 11, 2008
I had not thought of it like that “Give it a rest”… You are spot on though… Great post.
Comment by Wizz | January 11, 2008
The one major difference between wealthy blacks in America and other ethnic groups is simply that wealthy blacks have little to no influence other the rest of their people.
They have earned the respect of their people and infuse their communities with money and POWER!
How many wealthy Black folks do you know out there outside of hip hop artists and athletes are NOT considered sell outs on some level by other Blacks simply because of their wealth? I want to finish excerpting you and then tie it altogether at the end.
Since many of them do not employee or even interact with rank and file black folks who are they elite to? Is this eliteness due to the fact that they have managed to acquire wealth without power?
And finally, this…
Good ole Bill is embarassed by the behavior of poor balck folks. They make him look bad! The problem is as a very wealthy blackman Bill Cosby does not see his responsiblity in this problem. If he is an “Elite” it is his responsiblity to be a leader/ employer to his people. THAT IS WHAT ELITE PEOPLE DO!
Correct me if I am wrong here, but there seems to be an assumption on your part that somehow wealthy folks (I’ll leave the word ‘elite’ out for now because it can be distracting) are not doing enough to reach out to fellow Blacks that are not. Let me point to you a press release that I reference quite often on this site dated back in 2005. This came from the African-American Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia. I’ll just jump to its main points:
African-American Chamber Survey: 40 Percent of Black Businesses Have Difficulty Finding Trained Staff; 81.8 Percent of Black Firm Employees are African-American
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ — In a recent survey of its member-
businesses, the Philadelphia-area African-American Chamber of Commerce (AACC)
found that 40 percent are experiencing difficulty in finding appropriately
trained employees to work in their companies and that targeted training
programs would allow them to hire more people, with greater confidence.
Among the impediments to finding suitable employees, the businesses said,
was “technical skills deficiency,” “insufficient training,” “lack of expertise
in the business’s specialty,” “lack of education,” a “lack of a clean
background” and a “lack of work ethic, professionalism and punctuality.”
[snip]
“In the course of our conversation with member businesses, we’ve had
black-owned firms tell us that they were reluctant to seek new contracts
because they were afraid they couldn’t easily find new staff members with the
skill sets they needed,” said A. Bruce Crawley, chairman of the AACC. “It
appears that there is a very tangible need for workforce development training
for the staffs and potential staffs of small and minority firms in the
Philadelphia area. The combination of discrimination in public and private
sector contracting, and the lack of well-trained workforces makes for a very
unsettling business climate for black-owned firms.”
[snip]
Make sure you hear this last part—
When the business owners were asked if they
would be willing to hire ex-offenders “who have been screened and received
training,” those interested in hiring from that population jumped to 70
percent. (source)
So despite the all the problems these Black business owners have encountered with hiring their own, 70 percent of them were still willing to give the riskiest part of that demographic another chance.
Now someone may say “Well, who is suggesting that these business people are ‘wealthy”?” My answer to that is most other Black folks do. Let’s be real here for a minute, if you are perceived to have a little something extra than as you described “rank and file” Black folks, you are automatically assumed to be part of the collective resource without proving that you (the borrower) possesses the ability to either replace what was borrowed or replicate it for others. As you can see, this goes far beyond Graham’s book.
Your comment also brought something else in mind that I should just make into its own post.
There is at least one study that has confirmed the fact that when it comes to benevolence (giving back), Black folks lead in this category. When bruh-man or sistah-girl is in need of help, there is a network of folks (the network can be loose or traditional) within our own community that is there to help on many occasions. But here is what usually happens (and I am going to use an example from my own family on this one).
Some years back, a cousin of mine found out that she was pregnant. So the family (other cousins, aunts and uncles) gave her money and other resources to help her stay on her feet during this time. Now mind you, the guy that got her pregnant had been beating her up, so she had to go back living with her mom. She meets guy number 2–same doggone thing as with guy #1 except she has 2 kids from this guy. Although the family was a little reluctant to help her this second time around (because she still was hanging with guy #2, they moved her out of that environment to another state, co-signed for her to get her own apartment, bought her a car and helped her find employment. She was finally doing pretty well for herself UNTIL guy #2 comes back into the picture. She kicks the whole family and decides to move back in with this guy. Needless to say that she burned a lot of bridges within the family. I have PLENTY of stories like that as I am sure you do as well.
Now I mention that story because this same scenario I believe is what has been eating away at what you deem should be an increase of giving by wealthy folks. At some point, folks get tired of throwing precious resources out there when oftentimes they will not see it being replicated. If you been around long enough, you will know this issue isn’t exclusive to those who are considered ‘wealthy’. The unfortunate thing is, once word gets out that you have decreased you ‘giving-back’ in some way, you are automatically thrown on the ’sell-out’ or ‘too-uppity’ pile. Not wanting to be tagged as such, you continue the endless circle that never seems to get you or the community past 1st base.
I think by far the main reason why the other ethnic groups have been able to maintain the economic network in their communities is mainly because those receiving the help know that they must in-turn be willing to do the same for the next guy in line.
Lastly, you accuse Bill Cosby of doing what he does today in regards to the call outs simply because he is “embarrassed by the behavior of poor black folks”? I call that nonsense. If he was truly embarrassed as you are suggesting, why would he take the time to address these issues with other Blacks in the first place? He could just as easily enjoy his golden years doing something else besides talking to who you think is embarrassing him. Secondly, be sure to measure the man by his record and not what makes you uncomfortable for some reason. In the late 60’s/early 70’s (I cannot remember the exact date), he took flack for doing a documentary that exposed racism in Hollywood, the media and the classroom (Black History–Lost, Stolen or Strayed–I think was the name of the documentary). He and his wife also gave millions to Black colleges where hip hop artists did not. He took flack from both Whites and Blacks for producing ‘The Cosby Show’ and ‘A Different World’ because to many it did not give an accurate portrayal of Black folks (perhaps he should have stuck with the ‘Sanford and Son’ theme). Lastly, it is not he who is randomly going to these cities on his own accord, but OTHER BLACK FOLKS who live in these areas that are asking him to come and speak. Folks in cyberspace are the real outsiders who portraying elitism by believing their 2 cents on Cosby represents the very folks who asked for him in the first place.
When I can get a paycheck signed by a black elite and when I can write my rent check to one of these “Elite” black folks than maybe I will understand Grahams point of view.
The problem here is that you should not want them to write you a check to pay for your RENT. How is you rent empowering the Black community? Instead, it is empowering a landlord that may/may not be Black and may have no record in ‘giving’. You have to think beyond rent and think of ownership. Put together a plan to buy several houses in the communities you are talking about, write a proposal to those out there in the Black community who may have connections to that kind of capital and take it from there. If your plan was solid and I had that kind of resource, I would gladly jump over the rent check to fund that kind of venture.
One more thing: Personally, I do not know if I would have used the word ‘elite’ for this book as it tends to carry a lot of baggage with it in the Black community. Somehow, I think he knew that.
Comment by Duane | January 12, 2008
Duane,
I do hear where you are coming from but the point I am trying to make is that in our commmunity you are more likely to find that those balcks that are the employers of other black tend to be a bit more “down to earth” than those that subscribe to “elite” status. It is the barbershop owners, and beauty-shop owners, Auto-repair shops owners, Daycare centers, the lower level lawyers, and doctors etc. These are the folks that employ other blacks and are making a difference in our communities. I know community lawyers and doctors, I also know some blacks that are lawyers in “whiteshoe firms”, trust me their is a difference in their outlook on life. Just as there is for the doctor that has a store front in the bronx as opposed to the more successful doctor that is on staff at on of the major hospitals.
As to paying rent. Hey somebody has to do it! The fact of the matter is the majority of folks of all races will be renters before they become homeowners. That is just simple economics. I mention “paying rent” because the majority of balck renters do NOT rent from other blacks. Since there are far more balck renters than homeowners in America why are they mostly renting from memebers of other races if we have a “black elite” class? Somehow those black elties forgot to purchase the property in historically black communities. If I go to rent in Harlem or Bed Stuy today I will most likely be renting from a white or a member of a recent immigrant group, NOT a Elite African American.
Back to good ole Bill, So he fought racisn in Hollywood? Somehow this appears to be more in HIS interest than that of rank and file blacks. And yes I do feel that his recent comments are due to his embrassment of poor black behavior. Growing up amoung so-called bougies blacks I would here this stuff all the time from blacks that have found themselves on the other side of the railroad tracks. If I had a nickel for every time I heard an upper-middle clas black person exclaim “why can’t balck people pull their sh*t together” I would be quite wealthy today.
When black folks that have achived something make such statements they are missing the point. They are turning their back on their responsiblities as “elites”. They need to read or re-read Plato’s Republic. What happened to the “talented tenth percent” that were supposed to LEAD the race?
P.S. As a married blackman with a household income of well over $100,000 per years (working poor), who grow up middle-class/ upper middle-class I am one of the blacks that can find a great deal of fault with the Cosby Show. Every single balck professional that I know personally has experienced some form of racism in the workplace. This included doctors, lawyers, business people with ivy-league educations. I also grew-up in the neighborhood that the Cosby show was set and we had many problems with racist police and neighbors. I cant recall a single episode of the Cosby show were Cliff or Clare were inexplicably denied a promotion or business opportunity for those unexplainable reasons that all of black folks know all so well.
The Cobsy show in many ways amounted to “Cool-Aide” for White America. By portraying a false world were everything was fine and dandy for those so-called hard working blacks it re-enforced the notion that it is the solely the fault of those blacks that cant get ahead in America. There is no racism in America of the 1980s! “Good” blacks have made it!
Comment by Give it a rest | January 14, 2008
Duane, I suggest you go to the library and reserve Graham’s Our Kind of People so that you can know his definition of “elite”. What you describe does not fit Graham’s elite class of people but only what his “elite” consider a step below them, the middle/upper class. Read the book.
Comment by Solacious | January 14, 2008
I was only responding/reacting to GMAB’s comment.
I do plan on getting both Our kind of people and his latest book on Amazon. Thank s for the suggestion.
Comment by Duane | January 14, 2008
I dont’ care what anyone says, rappers are among the most elite blacks in the world…
Comment by Joe Lee | February 4, 2008
Let me say first, that I love my people,even though sometimes we hurt ourselves. The white man will soon be the minority and people of color will be the majority. The poor will always be with us and that won’t ever change. Each of us can help our brothers and sistahs in our own way.
I’m happy for those who have achieved black elite status, but we can’t always depend on they’re help, though it is expected. We the middle class and poor must contiue to support each other and continue to look to god for our help. We must never forget that even though money itself is not evil, but the root of all evil.
Comment by Black Power | May 13, 2008