The Gilded Age Exposes a Forgotten Era of Black Excellence The HBO show The Gilded Age is revealing a little known period in Black history, in the late 19th century, when there was a growing number of Black elites and upper middle class. Taking place between Emancipation and before the introduction of segregation laws of the 20th century. It was a time of upward mobility and determination to succeed for Black people. With engaging characters and story lines, we finally have a show depicting this time in history that’s so different from stories of slavery or Jim Crow segregation. Why do so few people know about New York’s real Black aristocracy of the 1880s?
