Posted by | Ray Cornelius
S&A is reporting that FOX is currently working on a new scripted series about the Black elite. The show is being written and executive produced by former “Empire” producer Wendy Calhoun and is described as “a multi-generational family drama about a dazzling Chicago dynasty with a dark secret threatening to rip it apart.”
The untitled series is based on Lawrence Otis Graham‘s best selling book Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class which put a spotlight on the Black bourgeoisie and their obsession with race, class and culture. Otis interviewed several high-profile families from Washington D.C., New York and Atlanta as well as members of prominent organizations like The Links, Jack and Jill of America + Black Greek-lettered organizations like the Alphas, AKA’s and Delta’s. He also dishes about the infamous Brown Paper Bag and Straight Hair Ruler tests.
Check out a video from 2000 that I found of Graham talking to a group about the inspiration behind his book. He also revealed that the mansion featured on the cover of the book belonged to Atlanta’s very own, Alonzo Herndon, who was one of the country’s first Black millionaires.
RC will keep you posted as this series develops.