NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Not too many are aware that a small, wealthy class of African Americans who thrived during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were known as the Black Elite, and they play a pretty big part in HBO’s new series “The Gilded Age.”
On this week’s episode of Beyond Black History Month, host Femi Redwood speaks to actress Denée Benton. She stars in the series as a member of the Black Elite, and she provides some insight into what it was like bringing a part of Black history that has hardly ever been in the spotlight.
Redwood also speaks to author Carla Peterson, who wrote one of the books which partly inspired the series, in an effort to understand the era’s importance to both the country and New York.