A good friend called me last night to ask me to tune in to a reality TV programs called BAPS. When I asked about the meaning of BAPS, she said never mind that, it is something that I believe you might relate to. I am paying you the highest compliment .Turns out I was highly insulted. You see, Baps is an acronym for Black American Princess. They are born into families of a certain financial status and have stringent social codes of behavior which are exclusive to their group. Are you kidding? My family is educated and we enjoyed certain trinkets of success, but we were definitely on the outside with very little interest about the inside of the social clique in Atlanta. I was asked to be in the Jack and Jill association and later the Links, cotillions and many others. What helped me to understand their elitism and exclusion was when I asked if one of my close friends who was attending Washington High while I was integrating Woodward Academy, could come too. At the time, my perception was that they were doing a lot of community work and a plethora of fun activities with the exception of the cotillions which I hated even then. They told me outright that my friend could not join because the pedigree of her family was in question; while they were both professionals, they did not meet the standards of the organizations. Even during my teens I could see that the organization was much adieu about nothing. Makes it a little clearer about why old Atlanta was considered boogie. I am so Atlanta, that I remember when I told the BAPs to kiss my arse.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 18:13:10 +0000