America's wealthiest black country

In the mid 1800s, it was home to slave plantations and tobacco farms. But gone are the days of Black subservience along the banks of the Potomac River in Prince George's County, Maryland. Today, African-Americans in the suburban enclave east of Washington, D.C., are planting their own seeds of power and wealth, enjoying--in numbers never before seen in this country-luxuries like championship golf courses, Olympic-size swimming pools, horseback riding stables and ice-skating training centers.

With the distinction of being the richest majority African-American county in the country, Prince George's County is more than a place to live. For the 500,000 or so Black county residents--many of whom are in occupations that range from doctors and lawyers to hotel owners and restaurateurs--it is home to a social, economic and political movement that has turned the typical American hierarchy on its ear, and, if handled correctly, could reverberate for generations to come.

In fact, the county's unique position is so intriguing that publishing giant Doubleday recently published P.G. County, a steamy fictional novel that takes readers into a well-heeled world where millionaire Blacks are central characters.

In the real Prince George's County, the people are just as intriguing. The county ranks in the top 2 percent in the nation in income level, and in people who are employed in executive jobs. Two-thirds of its work force are in white-collar professions, many of whom have plunked down huge sums of money to live in the county where the average price for a new home is more than $700,000, with many fetching more than $1 million.

Tiffany Hanna Anderson remembers her reaction when she came to the county. "I said, 'Wow, there are all of these Black people who are doing well. This is where I need to be.'" The 35-year-old attorney, who is now a partner with Funk & Bolton law firm, bought a home in the county in 2004, and uses every opportunity to tout her find. "This is a place where I can live, work and accomplish all of my goals. And feel comfortable," says Anderson, an aspiring judge. "You walk out of your house and you see people who look like you, and have the same mind-set as you. They're professionals. There are people who are in politics, business. There is no other place like it in the world."

With an average household income of $74,000, the county has moved up from the fifth richest county in the state three years ago to the second, even surpassing Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County, a mostly White area awash with multimillion-dollar waterfront homes on Chesapeake Bay. In fact, the county has a greater percentage of households earning more than $200,000 a year than any county in Maryland.

While Prince George's County has some of the most expensive houses in the state, it is also among those with the youngest residents. The median age of its 900,000 residents is 33, with 44 percent being married couples and 35 percent of households having a child under the age of 18. Sharon Taylor, director of communications for the Prince George's

County Police Department, says: "The county embodies what we all have envisioned as the American Dream ... The county stands as a symbol of what it is we have all been taught America is supposed to be. It is actually happening here in Prince George's County. The African-American community has a piece of that dream ... We are what America was set out to be."

A key component to the county's tremendous high-end growth has been to set high standards. When County Executive Jack Johnson came into office four years ago, he dismissed the notion that majority Black communities couldn't be top-notch. He popularized the phrase "Gorgeous Prince George's," a slogan that emphasizes the county's commitment to build "livable communities" that are not only economically vibrant, but committed to environmental protection, reliable city services and beautification projects.

Virtually every entrance into the county has been turned into a welcoming garden. One roadway median near the famed D.C. beltway has more than 300 trees, 800 shrubs and 50,000 ornamental plants. In a single day in 2005, volunteers planted more than 10,000 trees across the county.

When it came to homebuilding companies, Johnson told them to "come correct" with their proposed neighborhoods, or don't come at all. "I understand that as an African-American leader, I cannot allow developers to come in and depreciate the value of our property," says Johnson, who is an attorney by trade and a native of Charleston, S.C. "I require them to build a certain size, put houses on a certain size lot, and insist on certain amenities. Then, everything else takes care of itself."

Through smart financial investments and an increasing tax base, the county has a $50 million surplus that it is using to build new schools, raise teachers' salaries and increase county services. At a time when school systems across the country fight for limited funding, Johnson led the county in fully funding its board of education's budget this year.