The Senator and the Socialite: The True Story of America's First Black Dynasty.The Senator and the Socialite: The True Story of America's First Black Dynasty by Lawrence Otis Graham Lawrence Otis Graham is an African-American attorney, speaker, and a named best-selling author by The New York Times.[1] Biography Otis Graham was born on December 25, 1962 and graduated from Princeton University and Harvard University Law School. HarperCollins, July 2006 $26.95, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-060-18412-4 By any standard, Blanche Bruce Blanche Kelso Bruce (March 1, 1841 – March 17, 1898) was an American politician. Bruce represented Mississippi as a U.S. Senator from 1875 to 1881 and was the first black to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate. Hiram R. , the first African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. to serve a full term in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Senate, was a man who achieved great success. He escaped slavery before the Civil War and rose to an office still rarely held by anyone black. He survived a racist massacre, went to Oberlin College and married an early black socialite. He also amassed a fortune, primarily from Mississippi plantations farmed by sharecroppers. His companions were only the most powerful, most affluent and most and well-known. Sadly, though, Graham took this compelling material and created a lackluster and irritatingly repetitive book. Despite ample research, his insights into 19th-century race politics come across as guesswork, and he overlooks the perspectives of many fine historians. The text is poorly edited-facts and character background are repeated, sometimes for a full page. Most important, Bruce himself does not really come to life, and his character is at the heart of the story. His claims to fame were earned mostly by pulling strings, and he did little to serve the millions trapped in the brutal slavery system that "freedom" was supposed to end. Even Bruce's family, who suffered this very fate, rarely heard from him during his heyday. In 1875, during the 19th century's worst wave of anti-black violence, Bruce sat silently in the U.S. Senate while his brave black constituents in Mississippi were being lynched and burned out of their homes for voting. He publicly praised some of the worst racists of the day in hopes of gaining advancement. Bruce is only the first half of the book; his failed dynasty makes up the rest. The second and third generation tale is a soap opera of bridge-burning snobbery and wasted opportunities. With elites like these, who needs enemies? Indeed, this biography warns of the destruction caused by being stuck on fame, white power and engraved en·grave tr.v. en·graved, en·grav·ing, en·graves 1. To carve, cut, or etch into a material: engraved the champion's name on the trophy. 2. silver. --Reviewed by Thulani Davis Thulani Davis's most recent book is My Confederate Kinfolk A Twenty-First Century Freedwoman freed·wom·an n. A woman who has been freed from slavery. Noun 1. freedwoman - a person who has been freed from slavery freedman freeman, freewoman - a person who is not a serf or a slave Discovers Her Roots (Basic Civitas Books, January 2006). |
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