In black slang, being "bougie," derived from bourgeois, means being socially pretentious. It fits Lawrence Otis Graham to a tee. His book, Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class (HarperCollins; 418 pages; $25), is the literary equivalent of the nose job Graham obtained so that he could "further buy into the aesthetic biases [toward light complexions, straight hair and sharp features] that many among the black elite hold so dear." In other words, to brownnose the black blue bloods.
A Harvard-educated lawyer, Graham, 37, gained notoriety seven years ago by working as a busboy at a white country...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
