Family & Milestones

Schools, weddings, milestones and the raising of heirs — the family as the first and finest institution.

Choosing the School: Private, Boarding, and the Education That Fits Your Child

How to choose a private school: a boarding admissions guide to fit, timelines, interviews, testing, school visits and the right school for your child.

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Jack and Jill, The Links, and the Architecture of Black Belonging

Jack and Jill of America, The Links Incorporated, how to join: invitation, sponsorship and service — the architecture of Black belonging, explained with respect.

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The Wedding at Full Scale: Planning a Celebration People Talk About for a Decade

Luxury wedding planning budget planner guide: the twelve-month runway, hiring your planner first, the vendor team, and a guest experience built to last.

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The Anniversary, the Christening, the Homecoming: Marking Milestones Properly

Christening etiquette, godparents and gifts, and milestone celebrations done properly — anniversaries, homecomings, and photos that become the family archive.

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The Debutante Ball and the Scholarship Ball: Where the Season Meets the Mission

Charity debutante ball fundraising traditions, and how it works — the Black cotillion's season of service, scholarships, sponsorship, and the presentation.

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Hosting at Home, at Scale: The Dinner for Twenty-Four

How to host a large dinner party at home, with rentals, staff and a bar that never queues — the full system for a dinner for twenty-four.

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The House Party Weekend: How to Host a Weekend House Party, Itinerary and All, Run Like a Small Hotel

How to host a weekend house party itinerary guests love — breakfast in shifts, an activity menu, staff quiet hours and a Sunday send-off done right.

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The Introduction Economy: How to Ask for an Introduction — Networking Etiquette, Mentors and Sponsors

How to ask for an introduction with real networking etiquette — mentors vs sponsors, the forwardable ask, the double opt-in, the thank-you that pays.

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Family Reunions at the Level They Deserve: How to Plan a Luxury Family Reunion, Resort Heritage and All

How to plan a luxury family reunion at a resort — heritage itinerary, elders on camera forever, the official photograph, and a family archive that lasts.

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The First Gate: Getting Into the Right Preschool

How to get into competitive private preschool admissions tips: the playdate, the parent interview, timelines, legacy rules and fees, explained calmly.

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The Matchmakers: Love, Arranged at the Highest Level

The best luxury matchmaking services for wealthy singles: how Kelleher, Selective Search and Maclynn vet and introduce — and what membership costs.

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The Gilded Years: Luxury Senior Living Residences and Concierge Care for Parents

Luxury senior living residences and concierge care for parents: CCRC costs, contract types, care managers and private-duty help, chosen with dignity.

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Advice to My Son From a Father: Twenty-One Things Our Sons Need to Hear at This Level

Advice to my son from a father who built the rooms: 21 life lessons on money, manners, friendship and standing tall — send this to a son you love.

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Advice to My Daughter: Nineteen Things Our Daughters Need to Hear Before the World Gets Loud

Advice to my daughter, with love: 19 life lessons on worth, friendship, money in her own name and rooms she was born ready for. Send this to a daughter.

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Dating After Divorce Over 40: Etiquette, Introductions, and the Second Chapter in Society

Dating after divorce over 40 in society: etiquette, introductions, discretion, the children, and the first gala — the second chapter, done well.

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The Long Marriage Playbook: The Secrets of Long, Happy Marriages Are Habits, Not Luck

The secrets of long happy marriages are habits, not luck: commitment, friendship, protected rituals and money in the open — the playbook of couples who last.

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Love Across the Line: Interracial Marriage Advice From Couples Who Live It Well

Interracial marriage advice for established couples and their families: merging two houses, doubling the holidays, and raising a home where everybody eats.

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Raising the Whole Child: Raising Biracial Children Rooted in Both Houses

Raising biracial children rooted in both houses: both histories at the table, both grandmothers honored, and answers ready before the world starts asking.

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Hair, Skin, and the School Photograph: A Biracial Hair Care Guide for Mixed-Texture Kids

Biracial hair care for kids: a mixed texture guide to washing, detangling and protective styles, melanin-rich skin care and the school photograph.

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Raising a Black Child in a White Family: A Gracious, Practical Guide

White parents raising a Black adopted child: a cultural guide to the barbers, books, mentors, camps and community that root a child in who he is.

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Chosen: Black Adoption, Told Beautifully — Process, Costs, Kinship and Open Adoption

Black adoption, told beautifully: the process and honest costs, kinship and foster routes, open adoption — and a story that stays the child's own.

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The Blended House: Blended Family Step Parenting Rules That Work

Blended family step parenting rules that work: one standard of love, parents leading discipline, names children choose, fair money and calm holidays.

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Elders at Home: The Suite, the Schedule, and Care With Dignity

Caring for elderly parent at home, done well: the suite, the schedule, professional caregivers, care managers and siblings sharing costs fairly.

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The Education Series

One school at a time — the great HBCUs and all eight Ivy League colleges, from this readership's angle: history, distinction, notable alumni, visiting and attending.

Howard University: The Mecca — History, Notable Alumni and a Visiting Guide

Howard University history, notable alumni and visiting guide: The Mecca, the Yard, homecoming, admissions and cost — the flagship of Black education.

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Spelman College: The Sisterhood That Builds — History, Notable Alumni and Guide

Spelman College history, notable alumni and guide: the sisterhood, the Atlanta University Center, admissions and cost for the women who come next.

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Morehouse College: The Making of Morehouse Men

Morehouse College history, notable alumni and visiting guide: Dr King's college in Atlanta, the Morehouse Man standard, admissions, costs and homecoming.

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Hampton University: The Standard of Excellence by the Sea

Hampton University history, notable alumni and visiting guide: the Emancipation Oak, Booker T. Washington, the museum, admissions, costs, home by the sea.

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Fisk University: The Jubilee Standard

Fisk University history, Jubilee Singers and notable alumni guide: Du Bois, John Lewis and Nikki Giovanni, the art collection, admissions and costs.

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Tuskegee University: Built by Hand, Built to Last

Tuskegee University history and notable alumni guide: Washington, Carver, the Airmen, visiting the historic campus, and attending today.

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Xavier University of Louisiana: The Pre-Med Powerhouse

Xavier University of Louisiana pre-med guide: the nation's leading sender of Black graduates to medical school, its history, alumni, and visiting.

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North Carolina A&T: Aggie Pride, at Scale

North Carolina A&T State University history and homecoming guide: the largest HBCU, Aggie Pride, engineering, the A&T Four, and visiting Greensboro.

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Florida A&M University: The Rattler Standard

Florida A&M University history, Marching 101 and notable alumni: the Rattler standard in Tallahassee, from 15 students in 1887 to a family legacy.

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Clark Atlanta University: Find a Way or Make One

Clark Atlanta University history and notable alumni guide: the 1988 consolidation, Du Bois, the art museum, the AUC and attending in Atlanta.

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Dillard University: The Jewel of Gentilly

Dillard University history and notable alumni guide: New Orleans' oak-lined jewel, from 1869 roots and a 1930 charter to the Bleu Devil tradition.

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Tennessee State University: The Land-Grant Aristocrats — History, the Aristocrat of Bands and Notable Alumni

Tennessee State University history, Aristocrat of Bands and alumni guide: the land-grant flagship, the Grammy-winning band, Oprah and Nashville.

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Harvard: The Legacy Question, Answered Honestly — Black Students, Legacy Admissions and a Visiting Guide

Harvard Black students, legacy admissions and visiting guide: Du Bois to the Obamas, the legacy preference examined, Harvard Yard, cost and aid.

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Yale: The Residential College Life, in Full Colour — Black Students, the Cultural Center and a Visiting Guide

Yale Black students, cultural center and visiting guide: fourteen residential colleges, the Afro-American Cultural Center, Bouchet, cost and aid.

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Princeton: The Eating Clubs and the Open Door — Black Students, Alumni and a Visiting Guide

Princeton Black students, alumni and visiting guide: eating clubs and the open door, Carl Fields, Michelle Obama, admissions, aid and the town.

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Columbia: Harlem's University, Uptown's Stage — Black Students and a Visiting Guide

Columbia University Black students, Harlem and visiting guide: the Core Curriculum, Obama, Hughes and Hurston, admissions, aid and uptown New York.

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Brown: The Open Curriculum, the Open Mind — Black Students and a Visiting Guide

Brown University Black students and visiting guide: the Open Curriculum, Inman Page and Ethel Robinson, admissions, aid and College Hill, Providence.

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Dartmouth Black Students, Alumni and a Visiting Guide: The Mountain School and Its Black Lineage

Dartmouth black students alumni visiting guide: the 1769 mountain school, a Black lineage since 1828, the Shabazz Center, admissions, cost and Hanover.

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Cornell Black Students, Alpha Phi Alpha and a Visiting Guide: Any Person, Any Study

Cornell black students Alpha Phi Alpha visiting guide: the 1865 founding promise, the Seven Jewels of 1906, Ujamaa and Africana, admissions, cost, Ithaca.

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Penn and Wharton Black Students and a Visiting Guide: Wharton, and the City Around It

University of Pennsylvania Wharton black students visiting guide: Franklin's practical university, Du Bois House, John Legend, admissions, cost, Philadelphia.

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