Oak Bluffs, Mass.: A Place in the Sun

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. It doesn't matter where America's black elite winters.

Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard is where it summers.

Here, black women with skin tightened by the sea salt wear diamonds casually with bathing suits. And pampered black children run through the seaweed and splash in the cold water of the "Inkwell," a town beach. Black men with trim gray beards carry about them that understated pride that comes with accomplishment.

Colorism: Nobody Wants to Talk About It

Colorism is the crazy aunt in the attic of racism.
It's best not to mention her in polite company. Or if you find it necessary to talk about her at all, do it in whispers among relatives and people who already know about her.