Atlanta families could be included in black Social Register

ATLANTA - Since 1887, the Social Register has chronicled the most prominent, old-money families in America society, such as the Vanderbilts and the Astors. <br> <br> Now an attorney from Chappaqua, N.Y., hopes to publish a similar list of the 800 wealthiest, best educated and most prominent black families in the nation a list that could include several Atlanta families. <br> <br> Lawrence Otis Graham, a Princeton and Harvard Law graduate who identifies himself as a member of the black upper class, hopes to publish the ``Our Kind of People 800 Register&#39;&#39; in 2003. <br> <br> Graham said the register is important because many Americans don&#39;t know about the vast black middle class that has existed for generations and produced entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers and other professionals. <br> <br> ``For 100 years, we&#39;ve seen WASP families profiled in the Social Register,&#39;&#39; Graham said. ``I think it&#39;s important for us to acknowledge that talented tenth that (W.E.B) DuBois talked about.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Graham will accept nominations for the &#39;&#39;800 Register,&#39;&#39; and he plans to visit 56 cities to solicit names of those with the proper pedigree. He will rely on the rosters of elite social organizations, fraternities and sororities, corporate boards and private schools. <br> <br> Entertainers and athletes will not make the cut ``because their contributions are minimal to the African-American community,&#39;&#39; Graham said. <br> <br> Atlanta families likely to be included in the register are Dobbs (former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson&#39;s family), Yates and Milton (owners of a Hunter Street drugstore) and Scott (publishers of the Atlanta Daily World). <br> <br> They were featured in Graham&#39;s 1999 book, ``Our Kind of People: Inside America&#39;s Black Upper Class.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> But some have objected to the idea of a black social register, saying it would be an anachronism, rooted in outdated class distinctions that divide black Americans. <br> <br> Daily World publisher Alexis Scott Reeves, whose grandfather launched the newspaper in 1928, finds Graham&#39;s idea ``interesting&#39;&#39; but hesitates to embrace it. <br> <br> ``I do think blacks have created their own society, which they were forced to do because of slavery and segregation,&#39;&#39; she said. ``But I think that the struggles of black people have been so great, they have been the great uniter. And so there is no difference between my family and any other black family in that regard.&#39;&#39;

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