‘Inside America’s Black Upper Class’—-some good historical perspectives, but mainly gossipy and pretentious. I need up skimming most of it, the Chicago chapter was, maybe, interesting, as were chapters on Divine Nine, colleges and Jack and Jill.

An excellent book, which focuses primarily on wealthy African American who are rarely talked about or seen in the mainstream media. Looking back historically to the rise of the middle and upper class Blacks, along with their pettiness and generosity, the reader gets a excellent understanding as to why there is such a disconnect among African Americans today. With all of the trials and tribulations that African Americans have had to face since being brought to this country, namely Jim Crow laws, discrimination and segregation, it is great to see how these influential people and their organizations were able to and still do produce some of the most successful men and women. These individuals continue to contribute to this country, and yet there is still a divide among its citizens based on income, education, social status and color. This book should be mandatory reading in schools. The author has brought us a priceless piece of history.

Interesting history of the evolution of & perpetuated class divisions among Blacks in the USA. Some of the chapters read as though written independently of each other, leading to much repetition, almost exhausting so.

The book was great until I realized that many of the people the author talked about were snobs. I love the fact that children were exposed to many of the finer things in life but not at the expense of growing up and looking down on others who did not have that same privilege.

Wow so… this book really opened my eyes. The Black Elite is a completely different world (a world i should’ve been born into but no! i am but a middle class negro of humbled beginnings

3.3 Interesting book, but not 'entertaining'. I wished the author could have focused more on the accomplishments that made these people elite rather than the commentary (albeit their own quotes) on their pettiness regarding others who were not 'old guard'. Most of the time, I find that pretentious people are just putting up a front to cover insecurities, but this class has truly accomplished amazing things, so it's disappointing that 1 - just one more elite class not reaching out a hand and 2 - why focus on pettiness when you can focus on greatness

This was one of the worst books I have ever read.

Instead of telling the story of the Black upper class, the book is nothing but a list of accomplishments of a select group of wealthy Black folk and petty, problematic comments from those in that class.

The book comes across like it was written by someone who was teased because they were wealthy and weren't "Black enough."

40% of the book is spent on the fact that he went to Princeton, but because he wasn't Greek or an HBCU grad, he feels left out.

The other 60% is about how Black people with lighter hues had been more successful, but "today there are large numbers of blacks who are able to gain admission to top academic institutions, as well as to top employers, regardless of the shade of their Negroid complexion."

On top of all that, there is a list of 17 rules if you want to pass for white, including converting to the Presbyterian Church, the Republican Party, or contributing to the Daughters of the American Revolution.

An interesting read. Something that you never hear about, see in movies, or in most of the media. Racism is a delicate topic. This book has that, plus classism.

The crux is in the initial few chapters and the last one or two. There is a lot of fluff, I just skimmed through in between. (So many chapters I could have, should have skipped reading).

I read this for the first time years ago, and it holds up well. Graham looks at the network of black institutions America's black elite have built for themselves (portraying himself and his own family as part of this upper class but definitely on the fringes) — the Jack and Jill kids' groups, sororities and fraternities, colleges (Morehouse, Howard and Spelman primarily) plus clubs, boarding schools and other social networks. All of which is interwoven with issues of hair (straight good!), skin color (light is awesome!) and old money and religion (Baptist? African Methodist Episcopal?). Much of which may have changed since the book came out 20 years ago—even when Graham wrote it, he noted how some moneyed blacks now exercise the option to pick traditionally white institutions instead. Still, I thought it a great readl.

DNF-ed this one quickly on page 38. Pathetic is an understatement of this society and their social norms. Initially, I picked it up because I wanted to learn about elite African-Americans and their philosophy on life. Instead this is a book about elite families that stemmed from the raping of lighter skinned African women in slave owners' homes and had the misapprehension of superiority to the extent of implementing the brown paper bag test according to Graham.

Not a realistic account but still gave basic good info of what I have experienced

19 hours on audible?? Definitely not worth it. This book could have been condensed by 75%. It may have been informative for some people, but I do not think anything in here is surprising or informational for the major of the black population.