Black Leadership, Politics, and Culture to Uplift the Race by Kevin Gaines Uplifting the Race is a rather confusing but thought-provoking study that examines the growing idea and interests in the evolution of the ideology of "racial uplift" from the turn of the twentieth century. In the first part of the book, Gaines analyzes the black elite's obsession with the ideology of racial improvement and the tensions it produced among black intellectuals. Gaines argues for the most part that during the nineteenth century racial uplift ideology was part of a "liberation theology" as stated by Gaines, which emphasized a group struggle for freedom and social advancement. In this particular piece by Gaines, he offers an in-depth analysis of the racial, class, color, and gender dimensions of a very complex topic, but it is also a provocative study. As stated in many of our class discussions, it is a difficult read that uses complicated language and a fragmented organizational structure. For me as well as many others in the class, this piece required a dictionary on hand for a translation of the chosen word used by Gaines. At times Gaines' analysis lacks a clear sense of flow and seems to wander from one unrelated point to another. In nine fully documented chapters with an excellent bibliography and index, Kevin K. Gaines develops his ideas regarding an "uplifting ideology." It begins at the turn of the century examining violent racism as Reconstruction was dying and the civil rights movement was born. From this historical mix emerges a new concept, “uplift,” whereby the upper class, or black elite, believed they could earn the rights and respect of whites by adopting bourgeois customs of self-help and service to the black mass . ... middle of paper ...... using the works of poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, WEB Dubois's ideas on self-help in dealing with racism; and the works of Anna Julia Cooper dealing with feminist perspectives, Hubert H. Harrison, and Alice Dunbar-Harrison. There were those of the upper classes who humiliated those of the lower classes, Gaines states, and some black males ignored the plight of women, just as the suffragettes ignored the plight of blacks. This process, however, needs further work and research to be fully acceptable. However, upon reflection, the author leaves the reader with a much better understanding of the paradox of the term "elevation"; It is my belief that before receiving this understanding, you need to read the book several times. However, what seems clear is that blacks have attempted to join a society that has largely sought to define it by excluding them..