In his essay "The Talented Tenth," W.E.B. Du Bois called on the best and brightest African-Americans to distinguish themselves "from the contamination and death of the Worst, in their own and other races." He encouraged separation from the lower elements of black society, but in the second half of the twentieth century, some of the Tenth's descendants distinguished themselves by disavowing their race entirely. These were not tortured souls who passed for white, but social climbers who acted white to improve their chances. For this group of men and women, the road to assimilation ended in...