A Holiday Break: The Color of Money by Mehrsa Baradaran

Books are always the best holiday gift for me. The only thing I like better than the anticipation of reading a long sought after title is the fondness that comes with remembering the discovery of an unexpected treasure.

As I look back on all the books I've profiled here in 2024, the one I'd most like to revisit is The Color of Money by Mehrsa Baradaran, which I blogged about in April.

Here's how that post began: 

This is an incredible book. Given the subtitle, “Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap,” and the quote from The Atlantic on the cover: “A deep accounting of how America got to a point where a median white family has 13 times more wealth than the median black family;” I decided to start counting all the ways in which, throughout American history, the deck was knowingly stacked against the economic freedom of black people. Even I was surprised by how many instances I was able to count. 

There are, in fact, 27 items on this list, and they represent a troubling set of actions taken in the United States, perpetrated over the entire course of American history, to curtail the economic development of its black citizens.

It's a list worth revisiting ... as so much of it seems to fall out of our awareness. But so is Baradaran's closing diagnosis, a description of why the system perpetuates, and what, if anything, can be done to reverse course.

There have been major political and social roadblocks to dealing effectively with the wealth gap, and each of history’s potential reformers has faced them. The biggest roadblock is inherent in majoritarian democracy itself. If reform is seen as zero-sum, the institutional structure of American government resists any wealth transfer viewed as a benefit to a minority of the population. However, there is a way to overcome the resistance by convincing the majority that reforms aimed at a segment of the population will benefit the entire population. For example, passage of civil rights laws was made easier when policymakers became aware that communists and other foreign enemies were exploiting Jim Crow and using it in propaganda against the United States. When civil rights came to be seen as a matter of critical foreign policy import, it was actively pursued. To point this out is not to cast doubt on the sincerity of individuals or groups pursuing reforms or to throw an overly cynical taint on monumental changes, but it is to acknowledge the reality of human nature and democratic governance. Then, as now, the public must be convinced that their own interests are aligned with the advancement of racial minorities or that they will not suffer when others are promoted.

As you enjoy your holiday break, I hope you find some time to curl up with a good book. I know I will.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.