Audiobook15 hours
The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap
Written by Mehrsa Baradaran
Narrated by Lisa Renee Pitts
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
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About this audiobook
When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, the black community owned less than one percent of the United States' total wealth. More than 150 years later, that number has barely budged. The Color of Money pursues the persistence of this racial wealth gap by focusing on the generators of wealth in the black community: black banks.
The catch-22 of black banking is that the very institutions needed to help communities escape the deep poverty caused by discrimination and segregation inevitably became victims of that same poverty. Not only could black banks not “control the black dollar” due to the dynamics of bank depositing and lending but they drained black capital into white banks, leaving the black economy with the scraps.
Mehrsa Baradaran challenges the long-standing notion that black banking and community self-help is the solution to the racial wealth gap. These initiatives have functioned as a potent political decoy to avoid more fundamental reforms and racial redress. Examining the fruits of past policies and the operation of banking in a segregated economy, she makes clear that only bolder, more realistic views of banking's relation to black communities will end the cycle of poverty and promote black wealth.
The catch-22 of black banking is that the very institutions needed to help communities escape the deep poverty caused by discrimination and segregation inevitably became victims of that same poverty. Not only could black banks not “control the black dollar” due to the dynamics of bank depositing and lending but they drained black capital into white banks, leaving the black economy with the scraps.
Mehrsa Baradaran challenges the long-standing notion that black banking and community self-help is the solution to the racial wealth gap. These initiatives have functioned as a potent political decoy to avoid more fundamental reforms and racial redress. Examining the fruits of past policies and the operation of banking in a segregated economy, she makes clear that only bolder, more realistic views of banking's relation to black communities will end the cycle of poverty and promote black wealth.
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Reviews for The Color of Money
Rating: 4.80379746835443 out of 5 stars
5/5
79 ratings11 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Awesome book! If you want to understand American history or the increasing wealth gap, then start here.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing book. It can be a little repetitive for someone who already knows their black history, but for a newby like myself it was very eye opening. As I originally read this book to learn more about banking, I was only SLIGHTLY disappointed that that wasn't the MAIN focus, but I did get what I wanted out of it and more. I 100% recommend reading this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is the most complete book I’ve ever read on Black banks and Black wealth. It does an excellent job of clearly explaining the dilemma of the Black bank. I would highly recommend this book to anyone or any group that is interested in starting a In the Black wealth.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is a life altering work of art. My understanding of why African Americans have struggled so mightily to achieve economic wealth is solved. Read this book regardless of your race or ethnicity.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was a spellbinding book. Her book, while at times, sorrowful, was also insightful and hopeful. She helped me to understand how American democracy has consistently been unequal and that Black American’s full enclosure into the American wheelhouse would be good for all Americans. If you liked this book, you will also like Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram Kendi.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A must read. Learned a lot from this one. Highly recommend
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A thorough, compelling, and insightful book about the tragic story of the Black dollar.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very good book, great attention to detail definitely worth the time
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wow! Just wow! One of the best books I’ve read! So comprehensive! Such a wonderful deep dive into the history behind banking and its impact on not only people of color, but the effects it has had( and still does) on every other educational institution involved. I would definitely recommend. This should definitely be taught in financial classes starting in high school and beyond if needed.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book kept me interested the whole time with the knowledge
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a well-written, cogent presentation of historical fact and sociological commentary on the wealth gap between black and white Americans. I learned a lot about the impact of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, on the ability of blacks to accrue wealth of any kind. The history of black banking was very interesting and educational, presented in terms easily understood by this non-banker. I now understand that as long as black banks are solely expected to serve only impoverished communities, they will continue to exist in a separate economy from Whites. Once again, there is much to be done to sort this out!