Examples from the elite African American social group, Jack and Jill.

1. Jack & Jill: Where
elite black kids are
separated from the rest
Examples
By: Crystal Gordon

2. Membership Invitation
 “The way one gets into Jack and Jill is by
knowing someone who already belongs.
And that’s how my parents got in: my
parents’ attorney and his wife, a
pharmacist, proposed us in the early
1960s."

3. Wealth and Membership
 There is no minimum family income threshold
required for those being considered for
membership. But, because members are often
required to entertain fellow chapters families in
their homes, in between larger events that take
place in country clubs, hotels, and restaurants, its
no surprise that most successful applicants are
the ones who have the space, money, and time to
entertain and host parties and fund- raisers.

4. Wealth and Membership
 “My own experiences in the group belies
the notion that wealth of members isn’t
noticed.”
 “I still remember the day I came home
feeling bereft after a backyard Jack and Jill
picnic at a friend’s house.”

5. Wealth and Membership
 “I was approximately 12 years old at the
time, and the friend had been bragging that
his family had 2 live-in-workers, a maid, a
caretaker, and a part-time worker who was
on hand at their private dock for the family
yacht moored at the base of their Tudor
estate on New York’s Long Island Sound.
 “How are we going to compete with that?”

6. Avoidance of Interracial Dating
 “I got so busy and put my son in Jack and
Jill. i know it sounds desperate but it was
the best move I could make in order to let
him know that there are black girls who are
smart, attractive, well-to-do, and well-
bred."

7. Discrimination within the Black
Elite club
 " I cant tell you how many Jack and Jill
gatherings I went to where somebody
would say something like ' you're pretty for
somebody so dark. you have nice white
teeth.”
 “The Jack and Jill crowd was so into long,
pretty hair-light-skin-nice features scene
that it really devastated me.”