Lawrence Otis Graham, the one-track mind behind Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class — the title is pretty self-explanatory, even if you’ve never heard of it — is at it again with The Our Kind of People 800 Register, “the first national directory of the richest and most socially elite black families and people in America.” Okay.
Graham’s original book had merit from an African American history perspective, I think. But a lot of people hated it for the class-separation and snobbery it seemed to celebrate and for Graham’s pompousness. This register takes the controversial issue to another level. Graham says he’s just trying to shift attention from rappers and athletes to black families with lots of education, lots of money, and lots of history, whether they want the attention or not.
“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?”
Some people who have a sure place on the list find it gauche and a waste of time. A member of a “very important family” that made it into Our Kind of People called him a pathetic social climber. Just like he wrote in his book, the black elite is a hard clique to break into. [AJC]
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