The most significant value of OUR class="textlinks">KIND OF PEOPLE is as an introductory historical reference to the fraternal, social, civic and economic organizations that came into being during the early 1900s and beyond to facilitate interaction among upward mobile Blacks. Quite often, these organizations were established in response to the discriminatory practices of comparable white entities. It was also interesting to see how the demographics of different regions played a part in determination of which members of the divergent Black communities might be considered "elite," as the characteristics in an area like Washington, D.C. were vastly different than areas like Detroit or Memphis. As Graham notes, the Upper and Upper Middle Classes are segments of Black America that have been minimally studied by anyone, and even less actively acknowledged by the larger community. Still today, Blacks are generally viewed in monolithic terms when the reality is a diversity of views, incomes, aspirations and capabilities, just as one would find with any other ethnicity. Graham's work leans heavily on the recollections of older representatives, many of whom have struggled for decades to distinquish themselves - in the eyes of whites - from the "common Black" on economic, intellectual and social grounds. It is also revealing to discover in many respects the fervent desires of these elite Blacks to be viewed as equals to whites on academic and professional levels were in some respects deleterious to overall progression as the greater emphasis in those high achievement areas served to constrain development of viable infrastructures that may have excelerated growth for the entire race, sort of the "Dubois vs. Washingtion" argument.
Dependence on the "old guard" of the Upper Class, is one of the book's unfortunate deficiences. Graham's approach is unavoidable in order to provide an accurate sense of history but regrettably, he also implied a sense of superiority and superficiality that I found mispresentative of the elites in their entirety. In numerable instances, the external factors that may have influenced choices in educational, residential and economic areas were underemphasized, leading to an erroneous inference that discrimatory practices of the time were less of a factor than experience would indicate. Dependence on the venerable further placed greater importance on attitudes formed as a reaction to the era, attitudes not easily nor expeditiously modified with increased opportunities in later years, attitudes not nearly as prevalent among younger, more enlightened Black elites today.
Demonstration of "Cross-pollinization" among fraternities and sororities, organizations like Jack and Jill, Links and Boule' was essential to his study however reiteration of biographical information concerning each person whenever their names appeared was monotonous and worse, tedious. At times, the text read like the book of Genesis, and in this case, that's not a good thing.
OUR KIND OF PEOPLE has proven to be a work of controversy as it shows bigotry, elitism, and classism are not endemic to any single racial group. Unfortunately, the book leaves the impression those values are as pervasive now among the "Elite Black" today as they may have been forty years ago. Issues relating to complexion are yet a stigma, however depth and tone of one's melanin is not the same constraint it was in the 30s and 40s. Graham allowed the fixation to fester at the end of the book as a larger concern than present attitudes indicate.
I recommend reading the book but with an analytical mind.