Systemic Racism in Finance

The White Wall: How Big Finance Bankrupts Black America by Emily Flitter is a deeply reported exposé that uncovers the systemic racism entrenched within the American financial services industry. The book provides a detailed examination of how racial bias manifests in various sectors, including banking, insurance, and human resources, and how it disproportionately affects Black Americans.

The White Wall excels in bringing to light the often-overlooked issue of racial discrimination in the financial sector. Its strengths lie in its detailed reporting, the credibility of its sources, and the powerful personal stories it shares. However, some readers might find the subject matter heavy and the repeated instances of discrimination disheartening. Nonetheless, the book is an essential read for anyone interested in understanding the systemic barriers that contribute to the racial wealth gap in America.

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. The White Wall is a look into the systemic racism inside the American financial services industry. Emily Flitter; who's a finance reporter, writes an informative book of what banking means while being Black. This is an important read for everyone, and should be required in schools.

This book will make you feel rage. I am a white woman who doesn't know what it is like to live as a Black person. I am angry for how they are treated, and angry that systemic racism exists. Reparations are needed, and America needs to change. The unfair, disgusting system needs to dismantled. There needs to be equity in America and around the world. I learned a lot while reading this book, and I hope everyone picks this up.

The writing style is impactful and beautifully written. Flitter is a great author, and I can't wait to read their next book. You can tell how well researched this book was.

“White Americans hold, on average, almost $1 million in family wealth compared with an average of just $143,000 for Black American families—less than 15 percent of white families’ totals. The size of this gap was largely the same in 1968, just as some of the civil rights era’s landmark antidiscrimination laws were going into effect.

…Most notably, in the years just after the 2008 financial crisis, Black families’ fortunes shrank by 50% while those of white families stopped shrinking and stabilized after a 30% drop.”

The intense rage that I felt while reading this book is still burning fire within me. I am a white woman who lives in a major American city and I’ve never been redlined. I’ve never been denied access to my bank accounts, my money, investment funds, etc. because of my race. I have never had the police called on me because I have never had to be upset that a bank or investment firm has asked me to leave whether as an employee or a customer.

And yet it happens to Black people all the time as hurdles are consistently being put in front of them. Flitter shows damning evidence that racism is alive and well in the financial system.

The White Wall makes an excellent case for why reparations are needed. White people have built this system for the good of our own. It should be up to us to dismantle and rebuild it for the equality and equity of all people. This book is not going to be popular among those in the financial sector but it is sorely needed as another detailed point of view to the largely secretive nature of the financial world.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this eARC. The White Wall is out now.