In 1889 a black critic claimed that Purvis was a classic example of the lightcomplexioned black man who advanced his own interests by ... upper-class Negroes placed between themselves and other blacks as the wedding of John R. Lynch, ...
Professor Gatewood's study examines this class of African Americans by looking at the genealogies and occupations of specific families and individuals throughout the United States and their roles in their various communities. --from ...
In the years following reconstruction, up until 1920, there developed in the United States a small yet self-aware and active aristocracy. detailed account of the most influential segment of the Afro-American community, illuminating ...
Aristocrats of Color: The Black Elite
Aristocrats of Color: The Black Elite, 1880-1920