Lawrence Otis Graham gets the question all the time.

"Are you bougie?"

For the uninitiated, the word is derived from "bourgeois," and it's gained currency in the black culture, both as a compliment or as an insult for those aspiring to a higher class.

As a black man with degrees from Princeton and Harvard who uses "summer" as a verb to explain what he does on Martha's Vineyard, and who has written extensively about society and class, Graham is used to the question.

"Do I think that there are people who call me that? Yes," Graham said. "But bougie is middle-class, and I have risen beyond that. I would be lying if I described myself as bougie."

No matter what you call him, Graham knows how to spark a debate.

Graham is touring the country for a series of interviews for his upcoming book, "The Our Kind of People 800 Register."

It will be the first national directory of the richest and most socially elite black families and people in America.

Graham said the book is a natural sequel to his "Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class," which looked at the history and traditions of the black elite. He said the new book, due this fall, is an attempt to do what whites have done, which is identify and catalog their social elite.

"The first book talked about the lifestyle," he said. "But many people said, 'You neglected to mention the so-and-so family in Charleston.' So, let me tell you who they are and how they got their money. I am going city by city, family by family, credential by credential."

Oprah Winfrey, Black Enterprise Publisher Earl Graves and Johnson Publishing's Linda Johnson Rice likely will make the list.

Russell Simmons, Michael Jordan and Tyler Perry, three of the richest black men in America, probably won't.

Atlanta's Usher or Jermaine Dupri? Don't even think about it. A headline in a recent press release announcing the book read: "Who's In: Black Doctors, Lawyers, Bankers & Rich Socialites; Who's Out: Baby Mamas, Basketballers & Ghetto Rap Stars."

"I know it is going to upset people, but I have an important goal in mind, " Graham said in a recent interview. "This is about more than finding the 800. I am also trying to address the negative images that seem to pervade the media and mind-set. The only black success stories we seem to want to embrace are athletes, comedians and entertainers."

Which creates this paradox: While Black Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson might make it, Jay-Z, whose music helped build the BET empire, will not.

"People like Oprah and Bill Cosby shouldn't be compared to Jay-Z and Beyonce," Graham said. "While all the people on the list will be millionaires and billionaires, it is also about where did you go to school? Who are you married to? What med school did your granddaddy go to?"