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A Member of the Club: Reflections on Life in a Racially Polarized World Paperback – August 30, 1996

by Lawrence Otis Graham (Author)

36 customer reviews

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Informed and driven by his experience as an upper-middle-class African American who lives and works in a predominately white environment, provocative author Lawrence Otis Graham offers a unique perspective on the subject of race. An uncompromising work that will challenge the mindset of every reader, Member of the Club is a searching book of essays ranging from examining life as a black Princetonian and corporate lawyer to exploring life as a black busboy at an all white country-club. From New York magazine cover stories Invisible Man and Harlem on My Mind to such new essays as "I Never Dated a White Girl" and "My Dinner with Mister Charlie: A Black Man's Undercover Guide to Dining with Dignity at Ten Top New York Restaurants," Graham challenges racial prejudice among White Americans while demanding greater accountability and self-determination from his peers in black America.

"In Member of the Club. [Graham writes of] heartbreaking ironies and contradictions, indignities and betrayals in the life of an upper-class black man." --Philadelphia Inquirer

"Lawrence Graham Surely knows about the pressures of being beholden to two very different groups." --Los Angeles Times

Lawrence Otis Graham is a popular commentator on race and ethnicity. The author of ten other books, his work has appeared in New York magazine, the New York Times and The Best American Essays.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“All these essays are well written and offer food for thought. Recommended.” (Library Journal)

“Shrewd observations...compelling and provocative.” (Booklist)

“(Graham writes of) heartbreaking ironies and contradictions, indignities and betrayals in the life of an upper-class black man.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

“This clear-eyed account should be required reading for all Americans.” (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author

The author of fourteen books, including the New York Times bestseller Our Kind of People, and a contributing editor for Reader's Digest, Lawrence Otis Graham's work has also appeared in the New York Times, Essence, and The Best American Essays. He lives with his wife in Manhattan and Chappaqua, New York.

Product details

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (August 30, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060984309
ISBN-13: 978-0060984304
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.7 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 36 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #640,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3446 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Specific Demographics > African-American Studies
- #4186 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Anthropology > Cultural
- #30414 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government

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Guillermo Rocha

A sad reminder of a cruel reality of our times

February 4, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

As a Hispanic man I can directly relate to Otis Graham, even in 2013 I am still experiencing the same treatment from the part of whites. I always get this subservient role, when I’m at stores or restaurants regardless on how I’m dressed people will always assume that I’m part of the help. It is in the white U.S. psyche that people of color and other races are not supposed to achieve the same levels as whites are. In just plain casual conversations even ignorant whites will just believe that they “know” more than a person of color does. At work white people expect us always to falter, so they could capitalize on our mistakes, as Supreme Court judge Sotomayor resumed all the challenges in her life with a short quote: "There were vultures circling, ready to dive when we stumbled”. I guess I already grew accustomed to the vultures, as every person of color should be since we cannot change the consciousness of that bigotry that is inherently ingrained on the white mentality. The great benefit about it is that by being on guard makes you 10 times better than your competitors, but the demise is that you can never dream about reaching the top……

4 people found this helpful

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Alysha Nicholas

Thought provoking!

November 21, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I first heard Lawrence Graham on This American Life reading essentially the first essay in his book. To find out what the inside of the all-white country club was like, he got a job there and the only position available to a black man was as a busboy. There were club members making racist or sexist comments in front of him as if he wasn't there. Another eye opener was his "Black Man's Undercover Guide to Dining with Dignity at Ten Top New York Restaurants." Repeatedly, Graham was mistaken for an employee -- coat checker, valet, restroom attendant -- and when he finally got seated, the location and treatment by the staff were insulting. Even at the one restaurant that merited his highest rating, he experienced other patrons refusing to be seated nearby so that it was the only vacant table for almost the entire evening.
This was a disturbing book. Although written 20 years ago, these issues are still alive and strong. A level playing field is many decades away. Or centuries.

Comment

Remarkable set of essays. . .

March 23, 2007

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I too found Graham's book insightful and quite succinct for the most part. Graham displays a remarkable ability to step out of the trappings of his (exceedingly) privileged life to see how the other half lives. In so doing he exposes the vicious and endemic racism that rages virtually unchecked among many wealthy (and otherwise) whites when they think they are out of earshot and cannot be held accountable. This is never more true than in his first and most famous essay, where he dons the persona of a humble busboy working at an exclusive,all-white country club. On the other side of the tracks, he makes a daring pilgrimage to Harlem, living for a time in a vermin- and crime-infested tenement. Miraculously adopting a Clark Kent-Superman change of clothing and affect, he pays a visit to an enclave of rich black Harlem residents who have the means to send their kids to private schools and have their shopping done elsewhere, virtually disconnected from the surrounding blight. Here he manages to lift the veil of class that separates upper-, middle- and lower-class Blacks. Even while indicting well-to-do Blacks for their seeming indifference to those less fortunate, Graham manages to suggest that those in dire predicaments bear a modicum of responsibility for their own plight. In this last essay, Graham's tour of Harlem makes an appropriate bookend of a journey that is a sobering (and ultimately dismaying) assessment about race, class and culture in America.

8 people found this helpful

Comment

April 12, 2018

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Poignant and revealing observations. Thank you Mr. Graham!

Comment

The book is very good but it is disheartening to see how desperate some ...

February 7, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The book is very good but it is disheartening to see how desperate some people are. Large in their world but very small outside of it.

Comment

June 3, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Great book.

Comment

He said it was a great read.

November 20, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I got this book for my dad for Father's Day. He read it very quickly upon receipt. He said it was a great read.

Comment

June 20, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I enjoyed reading and discussing with our book group this take on the black vs. white society. Here was a well-off black man who ran into some racially biased situations that you would have expected of maybe a poorer class. Although the book is a bit dated, the information is still valid. Interesting...and some of the facts are shocking. Glad I read it.

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