Lawrence Otis Graham, Best Selling Author of Our Kind of People, dies at 58

[get these nets]

Gist is definitely a name within the set. I can't think of the connections at the moment. But she may be related to them.

Thanks

I'm not familiar with Lena Waithe's work. Or at least I don't think I've seen anything that she's in.

She's the producer of "The Chi".

There are certainly a number of producers/writers that come from the OKOP set.

Susan Fales-Hill, whom I mentioned. She's half West-Indian, btw.

I was so happy that it was the modern day Black elite that got Woodrow Wilson cancelled at Princeton. So fitting.

But, yes, Wilson the first Southerner elected president since the Civil War, was on that bullshyt.

*The US began an occupation of Haiti under Wilson, and they tried to give the same treatment to the educated wealthy Haitians.

"I grew up in a home and a family that stood as a refutation of Jefferson’s dire prediction. My mother, the daughter of Black Haitian political exiles who came to these shores in 1919 and my white Anglo-Saxon protestant grandfather, whose ancestors came in the 17th century, married in 1958. At the time interracial marriage was taboo in the North, and illegal in most of the South."

And Melissa Haizlip, whose parents were featured prominently in the book OKOP.

In fact, Melissa's family has it all. The organizations, the passing for white. Her mother was even featured on the Oprah Show to discuss how half their family passed....

I like Melissa's features, she looks like she has a fine ass sister or cousin somewhere. You said her family is deeply embedded in OKOP .Having read LOG's book, and seeing her mom(and grandmother), gotta ask which accolade got her father past the social barriers? MacArthur Fellow? President of a College? Medal of Freedom?

hehehehehe

I think any one of them could've tackled the subject with the nuance that it deserves.

But again, I don't know Gist's background but I do recognize the name from the group so she may be qualified.

Thanks for the rundown. Gist's career is on a roll, and she was attached to the project while LOG was alive, and presumed to be there to consult. Any direct or distant connection she has to that circle would have been a bonus. As it stands now, their talks and notes from Graham will guide the project.

Daniels is not known for nuance, so this might be a mess.


Still can't believe that Graham won't be here to see the project air.

 

[Red Shield]

Gist is definitely a name within the set. I can't think of the connections at the moment. But she may be related to them.

I'm not familiar with Lena Waithe's work. Or at least I don't think I've seen anything that she's in.

There are certainly a number of producers/writers that come from the OKOP set.

Susan Fales-Hill, whom I mentioned. She's half West-Indian, btw.

Then you have Jenny Lumet, Lena Horne's granddaughter, who was just in the news after coming out and revealing that she was a victim of rape by Russell Simmons.

And Melissa Haizlip, whose parents were featured prominently in the book OKOP.

In fact, Melissa's family has it all. The organizations, the passing for white. Her mother was even featured on the Oprah Show to discuss how half their family passed....

I think any one of them could've tackled the subject with the nuance that it deserves.

But again, I don't know Gist's background but I do recognize the name from the group so she may be qualified.

like god damn how many of these old money black families are in the process of becoming white

 

[invalid]

She's the producer of "The Chi".

Never seen it.

she looks like she has a fine ass sister or cousin somewhere.

This is her sister. Same parents.

gotta ask which accolade got her father past the social barriers? MacArthur Fellow? President of a College? Medal of Freedom?

hehehehehe

Her mother was like my grandmother. Had a thing for dark skin men.

Actually, most of them do.

In reality, this was the actual black elite power couple.

But as to her father's credentials.

Harold graduated valedictorian of his class at Dunbar High School In Washington, DC. He enrolled at Amherst College, graduating cum laude with a B.A. in Latin, Greek, and classical philology. He earned his M.A. in classics and education and his Ed.D in education policy and management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He embarked on a distinguished career as an educator, serving as headmaster of the New Lincoln School in New York City, Commissioner of Education for the US Virgin Islands, and Vice President of Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York. A resident of Los Angeles for 28 years, Dr. Haizlip served as Executive Director of the "I Have a Dream" Foundation of Los Angeles in Pasadena, and Executive Director of LA's BEST After School Arts Program under Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, where Haizlip created a youth orchestra based on Los Angeles Philharmonic Director Gustavo Dudamel's El Sistema Program in Venezuela.

And actually, I think her mother, even though very fair, I think her father was brown skin as well. I read their family biography about 20 years ago and I think she said that's what attracted her to Harold because he in some ways reminded her of her father.

 

[invalid]

like god damn how many of these old money black families are in the process of becoming white

Ironically, many of these families who had members that passed for white, those members ended up worse off in life. They did all that thinking that life would be easier, thinking that the grass was would be greener. Some of them, it turns out, ain't even have grass.

Years later when Melissa's mother tracked down one of her aunt's that was passing, she found her living in a trailer park.

She reunited her aunt with her mother. If I remember correctly, it was really awkward. Her wealthy and sophisticated black mother had nothing in common with her white passing trailer park living sister.

Sad to see.

Edit:

Sylvia Rhone is one of the few that I've heard that had white passing family members who actually did well.





This is her aunt, Marie Christmas Rhone, whom Lawrence Otis Graham outed as living in the Upper East Side and passing for white in his book. She was at the time a big time Upper East Side socialite. Nobody knew she was black apparently. Anyway, I had no idea until now that her aunt did all of this black stuff.



First of all, she don't look like she could pass for white in this photo.


But I've seen pictures of her in her later years....she still didn't look like she could pass for white.


But apparently, a lot of people thought she was white because it was a big controversy when LOG outed her.

Edit 2: Marie is her mother, not her aunt.
Let me see if I can find her aunt.

Edit 3: Here she is, Alice Mason.

ALICE MASON’S PHILADELPHIA STORY
The surprising background of one of New York’s most celebrated party-givers is revealed in Lawrence Otis Graham’s new book, Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class. Graham reports that Alice Mason, the exclusive real-estate broker whose fund-raising helped put Jimmy Carter in the White House, was born into a prominent black family in Philadelphia. “Her father, Dr. Lawrence Christmas, was a successful dentist and one of the founders of the Philadelphia chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest and most prestigious black college fraternity in the country,” writes Graham. Mason has been at least as successful in the world of high-end Manhattan real estate, tossing famous black-tie dinner parties with the likes of Barbara Walters, Dominick Dunne, Mike Wallace, and Woody Allen. Although she’s always been in touch with her sister, who lives on Manhattan’s West Side, she hasn’t kept up with her sister’s daughter, Elektra Records president Sylvia Rhone. “I just met her about three weeks ago,” says Mason. “I had actually seen her when she was 4 or 5 years old, and I haven’t seen her since. But she’s a great success, and I’m proud of her.” The real-estate doyenne explains, “There are many people with family members who live on both sides. I’ve led this life for over 45 years, and it’s all a state of mind.”

 

[pete clemenza]

Official greenlight is on


Mar 29, 2021
Lee Daniels, Karin Gist Drama ‘Our Kind of People’ Given Script-to-Series Order at Fox

The Lee Daniels and Karin Gist project “Our Kind of People” has been given the straight-to-series treatment at Fox Entertainment. The show from the “Star” executive producers is the first new Fox drama series ordered for this season, and the first series to be launched out of the network’s script-to-series model and writers’ room led by Gist.

Inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s book “Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class.” Per the logline, the drama takes place in the aspirational world of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, a historical stronghold where the rich and powerful black elite have come to play for over 50 years. The series follows protagonist Angela Vaughn, a strong-willed, single-mom, as she sets out to reclaim her family’s name and change the world with her revolutionary hair-care line that highlights the innate, natural beauty of Black women. Michael Thorn, president of entertainment, for FOX Entertainment, described it as “a soapy, thrilling exploration of race and class in America.”



“Our Kind of People” was first put in development back in 2017, as Variety exclusively reported, and was re-worked as of last year. The writers’ room news came three months after Fox announced the project was still in contention for an off-cycle order to fill the network’s growing scheduling needs due to COVID-19.

Gist is writing and executive producing alongside Claire Brown for her The Gist Of It Productions. Daniels, Marc Velez, and Pam Williams are exec producing via Lee Daniels Entertainment, with Propagate’s Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, and Rodney Ferrell also on board as EPs. Montrel McKay is a non-writing executive producer.

Gist signed a new overall deal with 20th Television earlier this year.

"A single mom with a hair care line"?? I take it they had to wait until LOG was deceased and gone to roll out all the tropes and eliminate the strong successful black male from the plot. Good lord, they can't be serious with this shyt If they're going to go this route then change the title at least. This is bullshyt

 

[IllmaticDelta]

First of all, she don't look like she could pass for white in this photo.


But I've seen pictures of her in her later years....she still didn't look like she could pass for white.


But apparently, a lot of people thought she was white because it was a big controversy when LOG outed her.

Edit 2: Marie is her mother, not her aunt.
Let me see if I can find her aunt.

Edit 3: Here she is, Alice Mason.

younger picture

 

[get these nets]

Never seen it.

You're not missing much. But Lena is the "it" woman, man, them or whatever she refers to herself as ,of the moment in Hollywood.

This is her sister. Same parents.

She looks like she came out of the womb wearing a pink and green onesie.

The picture of her sister was when she was younger, so I mistakenly thought that they were younger.

Her mother was like my grandmother. Had a thing for dark skin men.

Actually, most of them do.

In reality, this was the actual black elite power couple.

But as to her father's credentials.



And actually, I think her mother, even though very fair, I think her father was brown skin as well. I read their family biography about 20 years ago and I think she said that's what attracted her to Harold because he in some ways reminded her of her father.

Thanks.
(Vice) President of a College. I was close.
The Dunbar valedictorian was a big deal, so this man had distinguished himself early on. But, super accomplished, as expected .

Told you the jokes about me crashing some gatherings of this set. They looked at me, and assumed that I was a Nobel laureate, or some shyt.
hehehehe
=
There was a saying I heard a few times in college, wondering if you've heard it.
I guess in some circles, people were breaking away from old notions. Dark skinned male pairings with lighter skinned females became more common. Some who still held on to old notions would make it a point to question the female about her decision.
Quite a few times the reply was
"Hey, we've got to keep the race going".

 

[get these nets]

The series follows protagonist Angela Vaughn, a strong-willed, single-mom, as she sets out to reclaim her family’s name and change the world with her revolutionary hair-care line that highlights the innate, natural beauty of Black women.

I was excited about this before but now I see what kinda bullshyt they're gonna be on...

I predict that ALL of the black male characters are gonna be colorist and abusive.

"A single mom with a hair care line"?? I take it they had to wait until LOG was deceased and gone to roll out all the tropes and eliminate the strong successful black male from the plot. Good lord, they can't be serious with this shyt If they're going to go this route then change the title at least. This is bullshyt

Two of the most powerful Black women in America have used the term to describe themselves before.

cued


Decent interview though I cringed that she had the gall to use the phrase "I struggled as a single mother".
hehehehe

Not sure if they were pandering to the audience. Jarret was promoting her book, and I imagine that the First Lady used a variation of that term in her book. I get it. They have to be accessible and relatable to other women, but my eyebrow was raised both times.
I'm somebody who loves the First Lady and won't tolerate hearing any slander about her, but even I was taken aback seeing the clip.

I imagine the fictional character from this series is being written this way to make the audience identify with her more. Divorce rates, and single parent household rates being what they are, I guess.

 

[Originalman]

"A single mom with a hair care line"?? I take it they had to wait until LOG was deceased and gone to roll out all the tropes and eliminate the strong successful black male from the plot. Good lord, they can't be serious with this shyt If they're going to go this route then change the title at least. This is bullshyt

shyt gonna be a disrespectful swirlathon with all the black stereotypes.

Call it empire with uppity blacks.

 

[Originalman]

Two of the most powerful Black women in America have used the term to describe themselves before.





Not sure if they were pandering to the audience. Jarret was promoting her book, and I imagine that the First Lady used a variation of that term in her book. I get it. They have to be accessible and relatable to other women, but my eyebrow was raised both times.
I'm somebody who loves the First Lady and won't tolerate hearing any slander about her, but even I was taken aback seeing the clip.

I imagine the fictional character from this series is being written this way to make the audience identify with her more. Divorce rates, and single parent household rates being what they are, I guess.

They love showing blacks in a negative light on tv.

shyt is amos and andy level of buffoonery.

 

[get these nets]

shyt gonna be a disrespectful swirlathon with all the black stereotypes.

Call it empire with uppity blacks.

Trademark "swirlathon" before they use it for the title of a Love&Hiphop spinoff

 

[invalid]

She looks like she came out of the womb wearing a pink and green onesie.

Her mother was like president of the Los Angeles AKAs at one point I think.

The picture of her sister was when she was younger, so I mistakenly thought that they were younger.

Nah.. I think that picture was relatively recent.

............

This is their grandfather, Dr. Julian Taylor, a baptist minister.

He was an arch nemesis to Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Baptist Leadership Conference. When I read Shirley's family biography years ago, this was one of the most eye opening things. She said her father extremely disliked MLK and that informed their own perceptions of him growing up. And if I recall, they were a bit apathetic about his assassination, that's how deep the hate ran. I can't remember what started the feud though. At the time, I didn't know there were blacks that were against King so that was surprising to see.

 

[pete clemenza]

Two of the most powerful Black women in America have used the term to describe themselves before.





Not sure if they were pandering to the audience. Jarret was promoting her book, and I imagine that the First Lady used a variation of that term in her book. I get it. They have to be accessible and relatable to other women, but my eyebrow was raised both times.
I'm somebody who loves the First Lady and won't tolerate hearing any slander about her, but even I was taken aback seeing the clip.

I imagine the fictional character from this series is being written this way to make the audience identify with her more. Divorce rates, and single parent household rates being what they are, I guess.

I hear you but if they're going by the actual book which is "Our Kind Of People" then at least 60% or more has to showcase black male achievement and wealth in some form or fashion. Of course you have to have female achievement as well to but to have the main protagonist-center piece be a "single mother with a hair care line" isn't "Our Kind Of People". They definitely waited for him to pass to do this shyt. Damn shame .. Honestly this show should've been our 'Mad Men' if we want to be real with it. But nope, dumb it down to double your dollars.


-That Michelle Obama vid is a bad look for her and her family

 

[get these nets]

I hear you but if they're going by the actual book which is "Our Kind Of People" then at least 60% or more has to showcase black male achievement and wealth in some form or fashion. Of course you have to have female achievement as well to but to have the main protagonist-center piece be a "single mother with a hair care line" isn't "Our Kind Of People". They definitely waited for him to pass to do this shyt. Damn shame .. Honestly this show should've been our 'Mad Men' if we want to be real with it. But nope, dumb it down to double your dollars.


-That Michelle Obama vid is a bad look for her and her family

LOG was shopping these projects for decades. What the impetus was for it to move into actual development and shooting was how the BGLO, HBCU, and OKOP communities carried Kamala into the White House.
Mainstream media took note of and wrote stories about her "secret army" and the networks she was affiliated with. Especially the women in those networks.
Networks casting a female lead in this series that was "inspired" by LOG's book isn't much of a surprise. The lead being a single mom is an angle that threw me off a bit.
Her being an entrepreneur with a natural hair care line has to be Graham giving us a final troll.

 

[CHICAGO]

I was excited about this before but now I see what kinda bullshyt they're gonna be on...

I predict that ALL of the black male characters are gonna be colorist and abusive.

ITS LEE DANIELS.

HES GONNA MAKE A BUNCH
OF THOSE nikkaS fakkitS TOO.

​