My grandmother was a kind of Scarsdale New York society woman best known in her day as the author of the 1959 book 'Growing Your Own Way: An Informal Guide for Teen-Agers' - this despite being a person whose parenting style made Joan Crawford's wire hangers look like pool noodles.
The wealthy are always surrounded by hangers-on science and art are as well.
In a typical history book black Americans are mentioned in the context of slavery or civil rights. There's so much more to the story.