@Cynique This is still true although “Boule” in this context refers to the biennial meeting of my sorors of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
“The Boule’ (Sigma Pi Phi) the organization of Black Elite Men is still strong today with an estimated 5000 members who contain some of the same Black men who have chaired or still sit on the boards of the largest corporations, serve in the U.S. Government ; executive level of the nation’s top universities such as Gregory Vincent
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-vincent-681232b/
The fraternities of the Divine Nine still have the same mission - Of course I’m not a member but last year an A phi A friend of mine called, seemingly, to make sure I’d put in a word with my Kappa baby-daddy because he wanted to host a party at my baby-daddy’ and his powerful attorney wife’s martha’s vineyard home for a New York political candidate.
It happened.
I’m a degree away from the “elites” and their power moves; but to be honest, I never felt comfortable in their world , choosing not to even marrying into it when the opportunity arose.
@Troy Lawrence Otis Graham wrote a book on “Our Kind of People” and that book just scratched the surface of Old Money Black Elite... but it’s not fiction or old news.
One of my best friends, I met at Tech, came from that world. She was kind of a rebel; graduating from Ethical Culture Fieldston School before attending and graduating Tech, from Mount Holyoke, and from Cornell with a JD/MBA. She was so “fancy” she opened a literary gallery in SoHo prominently featuring bchildren’s book black illustrators... I went to the opening it was fabulous! Never seen it duplicated.
But I digress.
That world exist and hasn’t lost its steam or exclusive membership. While not at the level of “The Boule” in political power, but in numbers, recently, the Kappas came out to support their frat Colin Kaepernick. These black men still congregate but maybe not to “chit chat” but with an social political and economic agenda.
Anyway, to Delano’s comment I guess there’s no “fighting, egoism et al in the upper echelon of society because they’re the folks who throw away the scraps “we” fight over.
@Delanoas for “Sweet, SweetBack, Badass Song” Director -I have no opinion but in the late 90s he told a reporter he didn’t have a PHd in Negrology and I’ve used that line ever since.