This book is not terrible, but it is also not great and it is thoroughly dated. If I had read it when it first came out, almost 25 years ago, I would be much more likely to finish it. Most of the people he interviews talk about what things were like in the 1950s and 60s - some even in the 30s. For a topic like this book, that is just too far removed to even have much validity now.

No review, but a comment. I wish Mr. Graham would write an update, here in 2019, about the societal changes that have taken place and the opinions of the current members of the black elite. I'm glad to learn a bit about a society that has been hidden from me, so to speak.

Awesome story telling. The history of the Black Elite really is American History. More of our stories should be told. The interviews with the elders should be shared.

Very interesting. Paper bag and ruler test. (The skin color and straight hair!) Becomes a name dropping roster. Didn't finish it.

This book was fantastic from beginning to end! Lawrence Otis Graham provided great explanation of the Black elite in the United States throughout our country's history! He tells the story of real-life black elite families in a very compelling way! He is/was a great storyteller! I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the lives of the black elite!

A friend lent me this book because even though his family was part of Black Wall Street, even he didn't know about the world of the black upper class detailed in this book. It was illuminating although the details about who knew who started to wear on me a little after a few pages of names. The parts I did not know was that there is a whole community in Martha's Vineyard that meets year after year. Also, that the Jack and Jill community was so important for upward mobility. Overall, I enjoyed learning something new and am grateful to the author for a peak inside his world.

This book is most interesting if you know of the organizations and some of the names in the communities where these individuals reside. It is a book regarding networking in African-American community that starts at an early age.

Years ago, I read a book, more or less, along the same theme by Stephen Birmingham titled "Certain People: America's Black Elite." It was also a take on the black upper class across the United States.

"Our Kind of People" is Graham's take on what black scholars called the talented 10th of the black community. This 10th was made of the educators, doctors, lawyers and business people who were able to provide services to their fellow marginalized African Americans. There were some caveats within inclusion of the 10th.

These caveats are something that African Americans still have trouble coming to grips with --- hue and hair texture. The last chapter of the book sadly states it all as is told by a woman whose darker end of the family gene pool grabbed her.

I said that the book was about networking. One of the first networks, of course, is where you lived, with whom you had social relationships and each city had their own cultural or educational elite. For children, it started with memberships in organizations as the Jack & Jill club. This club was open to the children of professional people so that they could meet other children whose parents were strivers. It also meant that these children had to attend the correct primary schools, even if that meant leaving their communities, especially in the segregated South, for boarding schools in the Northern states. After primary school, it was the correct HBCU or if you could get accepted, a prestigious Ivy League institution, much as it is today. Then of course, it was the professions.

It strange to read the names of some of my neighbors. I knew that they were socialites and highly educated. I knew that their children where in Jack & Jill. Even though my community was small, you still knew whose parents' were professionals and you did not see their children on the weekends because they were occupied elsewhere. In the summer, these children went to a Camp Atwater, in MA,
which many children parents, including my own, could not afford to send them. I am still not sure, since my parents were not professionals, if my sister, brothers and I would have been accepted had they made application.

The colleges were somewhat the same. When I matriculated at Howard University, I ran into some of the same people from growing up and more of these children of socialites from acrosss the country. An example of this are the Wheelers and Evans of Chicago, IL; the Lewis undertaker family of Memphis; Rhoulacs of Philadelphia.

They, of course, all knew each other from camp or Jack & Jill. The author recounts staying in contact with many of these lifelong friends even though he went to Princeton, as did one of my neighbors. While in college there were the fraternities and sororities that many of the children of the elite were expected to pledge. These groups also were a form of networking for those who wished to partake in rituals that are required to join them. These line sisters and brothers stayed in contact for the rest of their lives. I had mentioned hue as being one the caveats in black social hierarchy. There were times at Howard University that I wondered whether hue came into play with sorority membership. I did not notice it with the men of fraternity that I encountered.


There were the adult social groups for women, it was the Links, the Girl Friends and Smart Set, which prided themselves on raising money for scholarships. For men, there was the Boulé, NMA (National Medical Association -- not sure that blacks were allowed in the AMA when it was formed).

Presenting young women to polite black society was also important. The offspring of these elites often married each other. It was all an attempt to conform to the larger white society and stay one step ahead of their fellow black brethren. Family history was important. If you did not know who the black movers and shakers in each community, then you seemed to be out of social luck. Athletes and entertainers were not included in the black elite, perhaps because these crafts and skills did not necessarily require an education.

It is an interesting read of part black life that contributed much to the black community but is now being overshadowed by actors, athletes and internet "stars".

I picked up this book for character development. It was pass the time period I'm focused on, however it did teach me a lot about expectations. I wanted to set the social tone, this definitely assisted.


I've heard of Jack and Jill, went to school with girls in it. I've also known young women who raised money for their cotillion. I never understood it.

I think things have changed since it was initially started. It's another awareness. I'm seeing people and the world differently now.

This book is good for an introductory course on Blackness and Class if paired with other works from varying viewpoints and throughout Black folks' time on this continent. I won't comment on the author specifically, except to say, "meh!"

This book is informative and infuriating. I learned how black families acquired generational wealth and how it affected them. I also learned how being rich affected their attitude towards blacks who are not rich, even holders respectable jobs such as teachers, nurses, or electricians Graham did an impressive job of research.

Very interesting information on black culture. Although I enjoyed the book very much, the author had a tendancy to 'drag on' a bit. Overall an enjoyable read.

A peak behind the curtain to a world most of us didn't know exist. I was aware of a history of successful and wealthy African Americans but was unaware of the number of formal organizations and informal "cliques," their traditions, and the intensity of their exclusiveness. Inspiring and saddening at the same time. The book felt a bit repetitive, at times a bit disjointed, and probably could have been shorter. But overall an interesting read for those interested in the history and culture.