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Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close It
From the creator of “a unified field theory of racism” (NPR’s Planet Money), a dollars-and-cents reckoning of the state of Black America and a new framework to close the power gap
Historically, Black Americans’ quest for power has been understood as an attempt to gain equal protections under the law. But power in America requires more than basic democratic freedoms. It is inextricably linked with economic influence and ownership—of one’s self, home, business, and creations.
Andre M. Perry draws on extensive research and analysis to quantify how much power Black Americans actually have. Ranging from property, business, and wealth to education, health, and social mobility, Black Power Scorecard moves across the country, evaluating people’s ability to set the rules of the game and calculating how that translates into the ultimate means of power—life itself, and the longevity of Black communities. Along the way, Andre M. Perry identifies woefully overlooked areas of investment that could close the racial gap and benefit all.
An expansive take on power supported by documentation and data, Black Power Scorecard is a fresh contribution to the country’s reckoning with structural inequality, one that offers a new approach to redressing it.
Historically, Black Americans’ quest for power has been understood as an attempt to gain equal protections under the law. But power in America requires more than basic democratic freedoms. It is inextricably linked with economic influence and ownership—of one’s self, home, business, and creations.
Andre M. Perry draws on extensive research and analysis to quantify how much power Black Americans actually have. Ranging from property, business, and wealth to education, health, and social mobility, Black Power Scorecard moves across the country, evaluating people’s ability to set the rules of the game and calculating how that translates into the ultimate means of power—life itself, and the longevity of Black communities. Along the way, Andre M. Perry identifies woefully overlooked areas of investment that could close the racial gap and benefit all.
An expansive take on power supported by documentation and data, Black Power Scorecard is a fresh contribution to the country’s reckoning with structural inequality, one that offers a new approach to redressing it.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published April 15, 2025
24 people are currently reading
4496 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 24, 2025
Finished Reading
Pre-Read notes
This book seeks to define what Black Power looks like using data. But really this puts too simple a spin on it. I prefer this, from Perry's introduction to the book: Black Power Scorecard uses data to identify the key goals necessary for expanding and securing power, which help set priorities, such as increasing homeownership, for example, over winning Oscar or Grammy awards, or investing in Black-owned businesses rather than creating conditions to enlarge the number of Black billionaires. This book aims to create a hierarchy of indicators of power that, if addressed, would enhance Black people’s influence and ability to achieve other goals that are ranked lower in the hierarchy. Black Power Scorecard will demonstrate why prioritizing homeownership can in fact lead to winning more Grammys, laying out the strategic focus on empowering the Black community broadly and effectively. p9
Certainly a worthy concept in a genre I consistently appreciate. Really excited for this one!
Final Review to come
While we wring our hands over the lagging educational achievements of Black, Latino, and Native students, these campaigns remind us that there is an education crisis among white students in America, too . According to the latest NAEP results, white students demonstrate a limited understanding of history, scoring twenty-two points below the minimum level of achievement, or “cut score,” on the NAEP US history exam....p113
Review summary and recommendations
New Orleans, which experienced the greatest engineering and social service disaster in the country’s history when its levee system failed , could stand to produce a few engineers from the hood. p114
Reading Notes
Two things I loved:
1. Instead, the goal of utilizing business as a tool for Black empowerment is to foster equal opportunity and engagement in markets, and to achieve these aims through innovation. Black individuals have consistently endeavored to innovate the markets themselves, liberating all people from discrimination. p62 This book is very solution-driven, which I appreciate. Examining a problem is so much more valuable when creative solutions are at hand.
2. Interestingly, their difficulties in the labor market tend to predate their incarceration, with only 49 percent of prime-age men employed three years prior to imprisonment, earning an annual median of $ 6,250. These continuity-in-employment challenges suggest that while incarceration may affect earnings (and marriageability), the root causes of labor market struggles for ex-prisoners likely preceded their time in prison, restricting economic growth and human development. p101 As an abolitionist, I'm concerned with the impact of prison time on freed prisoners' livelihoods, but I never thought to look at it from this angle, as a continuum from before prison to after prison. It opens a different perspective on racism in all facets of contemporary USian life.
Two quibbles:
1. This book supplies a ton of data, which is useful, but that much data needs brilliant organization. The organization here falls short. Sometimes, the point gets buried in the data, where transitions are lacking. More often the point drown in the data, where there are too many datum offered in one point. This book struggles with both.
2. On the reading portion of the NAEP, 17 percent of Black students performed at or above proficient levels in 2022, showing a 1 percent decrease since 2019. However, according to data from 1992, only 8 percent of Black students achieved proficiency. On eighth-grade reading, 16 percent of Black students performed at or above proficient levels in 2022, a slight increase over the 15 percent recorded in 2019. Comparatively, the data from 1992 shows that 9 percent of Black students were proficient. p108 This paragraph is just packed with data. This book contains a number of similarly daunting paragraphs. I think perhaps visualizing some of this might have given the reader a hand.
Notes
1. Very dry academic style here. Bad or good? Depends on what you prefer, but I expect some sawdust when I read nonfiction!
Rating: 📍📍📍.5 /5 data points
Recommend? yes!
Finished: Apr 23 '25
Format: accessible digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
👩🏻🎓 academic nonfiction
📈 data analysis
⚖️ books about social justice
👩🏾🦱 books about critical race theory
Thank you to the author Andre M. Perry, publishers Metropolitan Books, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of Black Power Score Card. All views are mine.
--------------
Pre-Read notes
This book seeks to define what Black Power looks like using data. But really this puts too simple a spin on it. I prefer this, from Perry's introduction to the book: Black Power Scorecard uses data to identify the key goals necessary for expanding and securing power, which help set priorities, such as increasing homeownership, for example, over winning Oscar or Grammy awards, or investing in Black-owned businesses rather than creating conditions to enlarge the number of Black billionaires. This book aims to create a hierarchy of indicators of power that, if addressed, would enhance Black people’s influence and ability to achieve other goals that are ranked lower in the hierarchy. Black Power Scorecard will demonstrate why prioritizing homeownership can in fact lead to winning more Grammys, laying out the strategic focus on empowering the Black community broadly and effectively. p9
Certainly a worthy concept in a genre I consistently appreciate. Really excited for this one!
Final Review to come
While we wring our hands over the lagging educational achievements of Black, Latino, and Native students, these campaigns remind us that there is an education crisis among white students in America, too . According to the latest NAEP results, white students demonstrate a limited understanding of history, scoring twenty-two points below the minimum level of achievement, or “cut score,” on the NAEP US history exam....p113
Review summary and recommendations
New Orleans, which experienced the greatest engineering and social service disaster in the country’s history when its levee system failed , could stand to produce a few engineers from the hood. p114
Reading Notes
Two things I loved:
1. Instead, the goal of utilizing business as a tool for Black empowerment is to foster equal opportunity and engagement in markets, and to achieve these aims through innovation. Black individuals have consistently endeavored to innovate the markets themselves, liberating all people from discrimination. p62 This book is very solution-driven, which I appreciate. Examining a problem is so much more valuable when creative solutions are at hand.
2. Interestingly, their difficulties in the labor market tend to predate their incarceration, with only 49 percent of prime-age men employed three years prior to imprisonment, earning an annual median of $ 6,250. These continuity-in-employment challenges suggest that while incarceration may affect earnings (and marriageability), the root causes of labor market struggles for ex-prisoners likely preceded their time in prison, restricting economic growth and human development. p101 As an abolitionist, I'm concerned with the impact of prison time on freed prisoners' livelihoods, but I never thought to look at it from this angle, as a continuum from before prison to after prison. It opens a different perspective on racism in all facets of contemporary USian life.
Two quibbles:
1. This book supplies a ton of data, which is useful, but that much data needs brilliant organization. The organization here falls short. Sometimes, the point gets buried in the data, where transitions are lacking. More often the point drown in the data, where there are too many datum offered in one point. This book struggles with both.
2. On the reading portion of the NAEP, 17 percent of Black students performed at or above proficient levels in 2022, showing a 1 percent decrease since 2019. However, according to data from 1992, only 8 percent of Black students achieved proficiency. On eighth-grade reading, 16 percent of Black students performed at or above proficient levels in 2022, a slight increase over the 15 percent recorded in 2019. Comparatively, the data from 1992 shows that 9 percent of Black students were proficient. p108 This paragraph is just packed with data. This book contains a number of similarly daunting paragraphs. I think perhaps visualizing some of this might have given the reader a hand.
Notes
1. Very dry academic style here. Bad or good? Depends on what you prefer, but I expect some sawdust when I read nonfiction!
Rating: 📍📍📍.5 /5 data points
Recommend? yes!
Finished: Apr 23 '25
Format: accessible digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
👩🏻🎓 academic nonfiction
📈 data analysis
⚖️ books about social justice
👩🏾🦱 books about critical race theory
Thank you to the author Andre M. Perry, publishers Metropolitan Books, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of Black Power Score Card. All views are mine.
--------------
April 15, 2025
4.25 or 4.5, not fully sure. This is going to be long, so be prepared. I received an advance copy of this a good while back and had hoped to finish the book before it went on sale, but instead ended up finishing it day of. Please note, I do quote a couple times from the book to cover some bits for my review. These are not meant to be indicative of the quality of the text or anything else beyond me not wanting to type out Andre Perry's argument or provided information in words without giving the quotations to attribute it to him because quoting felt the best way to convey what I'm discussing/critiquing. If I am able, I will acquire access to the official on-sale copy, compare the bits I quoted, and make any needed alterations to reflect the proper text as it's published.
Moving on, I overall found this very informative, at times distressingly so, and enlightening as to ideas and goals that can lead to advancing Black people's circumstances in the US while highlighting the possible benefits for everyone in doing so. This book has firmly convinced me that reparations and the aiding of Black Americans to close all the gaps that place them behind everyone else are a necessity and that systemic racism is still very existent. Not that those things are new to me, but I hadn't quite read, or gone more in depth, about those things (among others) yet to hold the stance as anything beyond a vague positive notion that it's a good idea. This book, thankfully, has provided a greater incentive for me to read more Black literature and works sooner than I otherwise might have due to previously having so many things I want to read that left those works more between the middle and higher spaces of a vague tbr of books to get to when prioritizing. But I digress.
Anyway, quite frankly, it's absurd how much current replication and still present vestiges of racism and systemic oppression are seemingly resulting in potentially hundreds of billions of dollars and millions of jobs for our economy being untapped or lost due to Black people being stuck where they are overall. Even if there wasn't that, it'd still be worthwhile to close the racial gap since African Americans, Black Americans, are still human beings deserving their human rights being recognized and they are citizens of the country and, consequently, should be helped to thrive by local and federal governments just as white Americans have been repeatedly. A majority of the recommendations Andre Perry suggests for Black Power movements and governments to improve circumstances for Black people may have short-term costs outweighing immediate profit and benefit for the country as a whole, but long-term it all strikes me as so insanely beneficial to everyone that it vastly outweighs the short-term costs. And yet, what will be done? It's sad to see that something so incomprehensible to me as racism (past or present) will instead result in all of us losing out on better lives and our fellow Americans will continue to suffer--including so many children.
Anyone screaming "Think of the children" should really turn to the things actually causing probable harm to a hefty portion of children in this country--many things that Perry highlights in this book. For example, 9% of all under-five and 8% of all under-eighteen children are apparently living within half a mile of brownfield sites that are dangerously polluted or contaminated so that proximity results in higher rates of cancer, death, and morbidity. Like in the Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens neighborhoods of Houston, Texas, where 79% of soil samples surpassed cancer risk thresholds (with the worst samples being over 1,900 times the limit) and leukemia rates in children were (are?) 350% above the national average.
Thankfully, a relocation program and some other work was being done starting around July 2023 in that area, but there's so many other places that this violation of human rights is continuing to be allowed, or disregarded, by the government.
Wow. Didn't mean to go off there so much, but boy was there so much in this book that got me thinking like that or reflecting on other things (Like how ridiculous it is that Black people find that "whitewashing" their houses--as in replacing Black art, books, clothing, and hair/hygiene products with items signaling white ownership and potentially even hiring a white stand-in when an appraiser visits--results in thousands of dollars in increased worth of their property after reappraisal vs the initial one. To the extent of example people getting $134,000 or $300,000 worth of value gained in doing so) and I think more people should pick up this book because of that.
However, there were some issues I had. For example, one chapter inexplicably seems to have writing from Andre Perry's former wife Joia (Crear?) that isn't distinguished from when Andre is contributing, so I was confused when he wrote about his research at the Brookings Institue in one paragraph and then it switches to a writer sharing how stepping into the shoes of single motherhood gave them insight into what was being discussed. This is never acknowledged or explained anywhere in the advance copy I received (I even checked the acknowledgements page and didn't see any statement around the mother of Andre Perry's children contributing to the book).
That goes along with another issue I was bothered by a bit: Perry's seeming lack of self-awareness when it comes to discussion of patriarchal systems, norms, etc. One of the signifiers of Black longevity (and thus indicators of Black Power) according to Perry is whether Black father's live in the same household as the rest of the family. Initially I made a note that, by the reasoning he initially provided, wouldn't it just mean a second parent or care provider in the home--or even greater resources/assistance for single mothers--is beneficial rather than specifically necessitating a father (and perhaps inadvertently pushing/supporting heteronormative narratives that children specifically need a mother and father, and any other family composition isn't conducive to a child's well-being and development)?
The reasoning he provides a bit later is that "in the American context...gender influences the kinds and extent of a family's resources. In a patriarchal society, policy privileges and empowers maleness in many ways, to the extent that the privileges of being male can represent a whole family, covering for the contributions of a female partner. Men on average receive higher pay. Job positions that are traditionally assigned to women like teaching receive lower compensation. Tax policy has traditionally revolved around men's economic status. Thus, there can be a resource penalty in a patriarchal society when a child doesn't live with a father." So... it still isn't anything man specific that calls for father and instead merely conforming to current patriarchal systems that indicate having a man in household provides more resources, but not specifically a father (so, for example, a single mom living with her brother could potentially have similar results, I'd imagine while the father still engages with his kids while living elsewhere and that's just one idea).
Now, if he didn't basically end it there as far as that realm of discussing family composition, and added that the above is advisable in the current moment while continuing to push for countering and overhauling such patriarchal systems to improve women's stations in society (among other matters) so kids can thrive regardless of if they're being raised in a single-parent household or not, I'd be more receptive.
Instead, however, he comes across as seemingly doing a similar thing to what he criticizes others for doing earlier in the book in regard to racism and advancing Black Power via 'Black Capitalism' and the like, or attempting to spotlight inequality--tacitly accepting and reinforcing that oppressive ideological (in this case, patriarchal) norms or standards are the ones that should be followed. Perry's apparent surprise that a study found that women who own their own homes appear less likely to be married was another spot that seemed to indicate Andre lacking some awareness around the impacts of patriarchal norms and systems and how women may wish to live if they have the resources versus if they feel they need to seek advancement through marrying a man they love. I don't know. I'm also a guy, so could be off-base on some of all that, but that portion of the book just struck me as a bit off in that regard.
There were some little spots of numbers not adding up or spelling errors, but I figure that's not surprising in an advance uncorrected copy. But there were also spots that I desired citations or greater evidence for things I was excited to see put forward as information, but wanted solid backing beyond just this book saying it. Or there were things I wanted a bit more elaboration on, or the basis for a statement, but I figure part of that is the assumption of this not being someone's very first book or exposure covering those tidbits for Perry's intended audience. Those also give me things to look up and potentially find other works that more specifically focus on that and thus end up supportive of Black pursuits, which could be a positive. We'll see.
Finally, beyond that, the last things that I questioned or found issues with were the lack of greater consideration or questioning the for some detracting factors on Black lives (specifically gun violence is what I immediately have in mind) and how there seemed to be a lack of discussing how the positive indicators he covered impact each other or seem to have a similar thing impacting them and may have a more significant background indicator. Like wealth via income, homeownership, and business ownership all seemed to fuel different aspects of the other Black Power Index factors, so some portions felt repetitive whenever wealth was brought up. Though, I didn't think it was redundant per se, I just wondered if there would have been a different structure or something that could have mitigated that. I'm unsure, that's more a minor thing that I felt a little perturbed by on occasion or left me feeling like I could potentially mix up bits where wealth is mentioned (because it is brought up in regard to homeownership, income, business ownership, education, health, marriage, etc.). But it could also be the case of it not being able to be helped.
Then there's the lack of greater consideration or deliberation around gun violence when Perry covers community safety as a goal of Black Power movements with low levels of gun violence benefit life expectancy. Rather than exploring the causes of gun violence or why there's more in certain areas, in barely over a single page he mainly covers why gun violence has negative impacts, then briefly compares other safety-predicting variables related to levels of discrimination with gun violence (like number of police offers per capita, police encounter deaths, hate crimes, and anti-Black hate crimes) and labels them not statistically significant unlike gun violence, and finally says in one sentence that "policies and programs that address gun violence are essential to promoting safety and power." Which is additionally odd in the lack of even shortly written examples of implementation of policies or programs or even potential policies or programs.
Like, to me, it seems a given that addressing gun violence is essential to safety and power and you'd do that througbpolicy and programs, but what policies/programs? How would you address it without considering the cause(s)? Which leads to the note I made: How much of the "not statistically significant for Black life expectancy" variables could be behind raising gun violence? Wouldn't it make sense that greater police presence with greater deaths from encounters with those police alongside hate crimes (anti-Black or otherwise) alongside impoverishment would lead to crime being more apparent, gangs arising partially as a collective protective measure that may devolve to violence, and thus people wanting to protect themselves from the greater sense of threat from all those things alongside the gangs using guns more for similar reasons (alongside territorial and retributive reasons)?
I'm not familiar with living in those conditions and am definitely not the most qualified to discuss all that, so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. But still--why isn't any of that brought up or at least the causes and potential methods of addressing gun violence explored even a little?
Ok. I did not expect to write such a long review. I want to make it clear after all the above points of contention with the book I had, there's still much more good than those problem things in this book and I only went into such depth on those bits because the book specifically got me invested in wanting to see the improvements and racial gap closing and thus engaging in the material and seeing potential "weak points in the chain" makes me want to see greater support/improvement in those areas. Does that make sense? It's also definitely worth bearing in mind that all this is based upon the advance copy, and I'm sure the officially on sale version will be much more improved.
Anyway. Yeah. Definitely recommend giving this a read. It's gone on sale as of today, April 15th. I hope a lot of the recommendations in this book (or policies/programs along similar lines) that strike as very sensible and well-reasoned will be implemented sooner rather than later, and I think we must aim to help catalyze that implementation and the mobilization of Black people and allies to close the racial gap.
Moving on, I overall found this very informative, at times distressingly so, and enlightening as to ideas and goals that can lead to advancing Black people's circumstances in the US while highlighting the possible benefits for everyone in doing so. This book has firmly convinced me that reparations and the aiding of Black Americans to close all the gaps that place them behind everyone else are a necessity and that systemic racism is still very existent. Not that those things are new to me, but I hadn't quite read, or gone more in depth, about those things (among others) yet to hold the stance as anything beyond a vague positive notion that it's a good idea. This book, thankfully, has provided a greater incentive for me to read more Black literature and works sooner than I otherwise might have due to previously having so many things I want to read that left those works more between the middle and higher spaces of a vague tbr of books to get to when prioritizing. But I digress.
Anyway, quite frankly, it's absurd how much current replication and still present vestiges of racism and systemic oppression are seemingly resulting in potentially hundreds of billions of dollars and millions of jobs for our economy being untapped or lost due to Black people being stuck where they are overall. Even if there wasn't that, it'd still be worthwhile to close the racial gap since African Americans, Black Americans, are still human beings deserving their human rights being recognized and they are citizens of the country and, consequently, should be helped to thrive by local and federal governments just as white Americans have been repeatedly. A majority of the recommendations Andre Perry suggests for Black Power movements and governments to improve circumstances for Black people may have short-term costs outweighing immediate profit and benefit for the country as a whole, but long-term it all strikes me as so insanely beneficial to everyone that it vastly outweighs the short-term costs. And yet, what will be done? It's sad to see that something so incomprehensible to me as racism (past or present) will instead result in all of us losing out on better lives and our fellow Americans will continue to suffer--including so many children.
Anyone screaming "Think of the children" should really turn to the things actually causing probable harm to a hefty portion of children in this country--many things that Perry highlights in this book. For example, 9% of all under-five and 8% of all under-eighteen children are apparently living within half a mile of brownfield sites that are dangerously polluted or contaminated so that proximity results in higher rates of cancer, death, and morbidity. Like in the Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens neighborhoods of Houston, Texas, where 79% of soil samples surpassed cancer risk thresholds (with the worst samples being over 1,900 times the limit) and leukemia rates in children were (are?) 350% above the national average.
Thankfully, a relocation program and some other work was being done starting around July 2023 in that area, but there's so many other places that this violation of human rights is continuing to be allowed, or disregarded, by the government.
Wow. Didn't mean to go off there so much, but boy was there so much in this book that got me thinking like that or reflecting on other things (Like how ridiculous it is that Black people find that "whitewashing" their houses--as in replacing Black art, books, clothing, and hair/hygiene products with items signaling white ownership and potentially even hiring a white stand-in when an appraiser visits--results in thousands of dollars in increased worth of their property after reappraisal vs the initial one. To the extent of example people getting $134,000 or $300,000 worth of value gained in doing so) and I think more people should pick up this book because of that.
However, there were some issues I had. For example, one chapter inexplicably seems to have writing from Andre Perry's former wife Joia (Crear?) that isn't distinguished from when Andre is contributing, so I was confused when he wrote about his research at the Brookings Institue in one paragraph and then it switches to a writer sharing how stepping into the shoes of single motherhood gave them insight into what was being discussed. This is never acknowledged or explained anywhere in the advance copy I received (I even checked the acknowledgements page and didn't see any statement around the mother of Andre Perry's children contributing to the book).
That goes along with another issue I was bothered by a bit: Perry's seeming lack of self-awareness when it comes to discussion of patriarchal systems, norms, etc. One of the signifiers of Black longevity (and thus indicators of Black Power) according to Perry is whether Black father's live in the same household as the rest of the family. Initially I made a note that, by the reasoning he initially provided, wouldn't it just mean a second parent or care provider in the home--or even greater resources/assistance for single mothers--is beneficial rather than specifically necessitating a father (and perhaps inadvertently pushing/supporting heteronormative narratives that children specifically need a mother and father, and any other family composition isn't conducive to a child's well-being and development)?
The reasoning he provides a bit later is that "in the American context...gender influences the kinds and extent of a family's resources. In a patriarchal society, policy privileges and empowers maleness in many ways, to the extent that the privileges of being male can represent a whole family, covering for the contributions of a female partner. Men on average receive higher pay. Job positions that are traditionally assigned to women like teaching receive lower compensation. Tax policy has traditionally revolved around men's economic status. Thus, there can be a resource penalty in a patriarchal society when a child doesn't live with a father." So... it still isn't anything man specific that calls for father and instead merely conforming to current patriarchal systems that indicate having a man in household provides more resources, but not specifically a father (so, for example, a single mom living with her brother could potentially have similar results, I'd imagine while the father still engages with his kids while living elsewhere and that's just one idea).
Now, if he didn't basically end it there as far as that realm of discussing family composition, and added that the above is advisable in the current moment while continuing to push for countering and overhauling such patriarchal systems to improve women's stations in society (among other matters) so kids can thrive regardless of if they're being raised in a single-parent household or not, I'd be more receptive.
Instead, however, he comes across as seemingly doing a similar thing to what he criticizes others for doing earlier in the book in regard to racism and advancing Black Power via 'Black Capitalism' and the like, or attempting to spotlight inequality--tacitly accepting and reinforcing that oppressive ideological (in this case, patriarchal) norms or standards are the ones that should be followed. Perry's apparent surprise that a study found that women who own their own homes appear less likely to be married was another spot that seemed to indicate Andre lacking some awareness around the impacts of patriarchal norms and systems and how women may wish to live if they have the resources versus if they feel they need to seek advancement through marrying a man they love. I don't know. I'm also a guy, so could be off-base on some of all that, but that portion of the book just struck me as a bit off in that regard.
There were some little spots of numbers not adding up or spelling errors, but I figure that's not surprising in an advance uncorrected copy. But there were also spots that I desired citations or greater evidence for things I was excited to see put forward as information, but wanted solid backing beyond just this book saying it. Or there were things I wanted a bit more elaboration on, or the basis for a statement, but I figure part of that is the assumption of this not being someone's very first book or exposure covering those tidbits for Perry's intended audience. Those also give me things to look up and potentially find other works that more specifically focus on that and thus end up supportive of Black pursuits, which could be a positive. We'll see.
Finally, beyond that, the last things that I questioned or found issues with were the lack of greater consideration or questioning the for some detracting factors on Black lives (specifically gun violence is what I immediately have in mind) and how there seemed to be a lack of discussing how the positive indicators he covered impact each other or seem to have a similar thing impacting them and may have a more significant background indicator. Like wealth via income, homeownership, and business ownership all seemed to fuel different aspects of the other Black Power Index factors, so some portions felt repetitive whenever wealth was brought up. Though, I didn't think it was redundant per se, I just wondered if there would have been a different structure or something that could have mitigated that. I'm unsure, that's more a minor thing that I felt a little perturbed by on occasion or left me feeling like I could potentially mix up bits where wealth is mentioned (because it is brought up in regard to homeownership, income, business ownership, education, health, marriage, etc.). But it could also be the case of it not being able to be helped.
Then there's the lack of greater consideration or deliberation around gun violence when Perry covers community safety as a goal of Black Power movements with low levels of gun violence benefit life expectancy. Rather than exploring the causes of gun violence or why there's more in certain areas, in barely over a single page he mainly covers why gun violence has negative impacts, then briefly compares other safety-predicting variables related to levels of discrimination with gun violence (like number of police offers per capita, police encounter deaths, hate crimes, and anti-Black hate crimes) and labels them not statistically significant unlike gun violence, and finally says in one sentence that "policies and programs that address gun violence are essential to promoting safety and power." Which is additionally odd in the lack of even shortly written examples of implementation of policies or programs or even potential policies or programs.
Like, to me, it seems a given that addressing gun violence is essential to safety and power and you'd do that througbpolicy and programs, but what policies/programs? How would you address it without considering the cause(s)? Which leads to the note I made: How much of the "not statistically significant for Black life expectancy" variables could be behind raising gun violence? Wouldn't it make sense that greater police presence with greater deaths from encounters with those police alongside hate crimes (anti-Black or otherwise) alongside impoverishment would lead to crime being more apparent, gangs arising partially as a collective protective measure that may devolve to violence, and thus people wanting to protect themselves from the greater sense of threat from all those things alongside the gangs using guns more for similar reasons (alongside territorial and retributive reasons)?
I'm not familiar with living in those conditions and am definitely not the most qualified to discuss all that, so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. But still--why isn't any of that brought up or at least the causes and potential methods of addressing gun violence explored even a little?
Ok. I did not expect to write such a long review. I want to make it clear after all the above points of contention with the book I had, there's still much more good than those problem things in this book and I only went into such depth on those bits because the book specifically got me invested in wanting to see the improvements and racial gap closing and thus engaging in the material and seeing potential "weak points in the chain" makes me want to see greater support/improvement in those areas. Does that make sense? It's also definitely worth bearing in mind that all this is based upon the advance copy, and I'm sure the officially on sale version will be much more improved.
Anyway. Yeah. Definitely recommend giving this a read. It's gone on sale as of today, April 15th. I hope a lot of the recommendations in this book (or policies/programs along similar lines) that strike as very sensible and well-reasoned will be implemented sooner rather than later, and I think we must aim to help catalyze that implementation and the mobilization of Black people and allies to close the racial gap.
April 15, 2025
In Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap & What We Can Do to Close It “Andre M. Perry draws on extensive research & analysis to quantify how much power Black Americans actually have.” Perry not only offers up data & analysis but suggests ways & means of improvement to reach parity. While a lot of this book is data in the form of numbers, which is not something I necessarily enjoy reading or can retain, the percentages & comparisons are impactful to say the least.
The biggest thing I took away from this book was a better understanding of reparations. When hearing that word, my initial thought is $x for x people, but Perry gives a new & broader definition of reparations. He explains that modern reparations come in the form of programs to mitigate current issues Black people in America face as a result of slavery & post-slavery policies, such as segregation & redlining. Perry used the example of brownfields, areas in or around industrial sites that have been affected by environmental contaminants, which are historically Black neighborhoods, & a situation in Dallas where the government financially assisted occupants to relocate. I learned that reparations isn’t & shouldn’t be a one time pay out, because money doesn’t fix racist policies. But, policies that serve to overcome racist practices have a longer lasting & overarching effect.
It should be needless to say, but sadly we don’t yet all know the reality of Black lives in America, the numbers in this book were staggering. Numbers of incarceration, pay inequity, population densities in brownfields, schools, etc, & education disparities. While I do wish the focus was a little less patriarchal, with research into families viewed as being a mother, father, & child/children, when families are much more than that, including lgbtq parents &/or extended family members such as grandparents, aunts, & uncles helping raise kids together, I do still understand the results & their meanings.
This book is a must read imo–five stars! It’s probably already banned in many places, & yet it was only released today!
P.S. This was a Macmillan Audio pick & the narration by Leon Nixon was great!
The biggest thing I took away from this book was a better understanding of reparations. When hearing that word, my initial thought is $x for x people, but Perry gives a new & broader definition of reparations. He explains that modern reparations come in the form of programs to mitigate current issues Black people in America face as a result of slavery & post-slavery policies, such as segregation & redlining. Perry used the example of brownfields, areas in or around industrial sites that have been affected by environmental contaminants, which are historically Black neighborhoods, & a situation in Dallas where the government financially assisted occupants to relocate. I learned that reparations isn’t & shouldn’t be a one time pay out, because money doesn’t fix racist policies. But, policies that serve to overcome racist practices have a longer lasting & overarching effect.
It should be needless to say, but sadly we don’t yet all know the reality of Black lives in America, the numbers in this book were staggering. Numbers of incarceration, pay inequity, population densities in brownfields, schools, etc, & education disparities. While I do wish the focus was a little less patriarchal, with research into families viewed as being a mother, father, & child/children, when families are much more than that, including lgbtq parents &/or extended family members such as grandparents, aunts, & uncles helping raise kids together, I do still understand the results & their meanings.
This book is a must read imo–five stars! It’s probably already banned in many places, & yet it was only released today!
P.S. This was a Macmillan Audio pick & the narration by Leon Nixon was great!
June 17, 2025
Black Power Scorecard by Andre Perry presents data-backed ideas for empowering the Black community and Black individuals. The areas covered here aren't meant to be band-aids but long term solutions that will make the entire country stronger.
This is a data-rich book that could benefit from a few visuals to highlight the points for readers who don't like grappling with a lot of statistics. That said, Perry's explanations are clear enough for most readers to follow along. If you tend to read through nonfiction books at a fast clip you might want to slow down a little and take the time to consider what is being presented. Yes, there are a lot of figures being offered. But they are contained in text that explains their importance and the relations between them. Even with some visuals a reader would need to understand the text to fully appreciate the argument. With a little work this book gives the reader accessible and valuable information.
Having said that, if you simply don't like working with a lot of numbers and data, read this the way you might read some science books, catch the ideas and a basic understanding of what the statistics are saying without diving into the nuance of each set of numbers. The ideas are important.
I enjoyed his discussion of reparations. A lot of the opposition to any reparations is the mistaken idea that reparations consist of just handing people money. It is so much more than that. Many things go into it and tackling some of them on a local or regional level, or through the companies that profited off of the harm done, we can work toward something on a national level that would be a forward-looking reparation policy that addresses past wrongs by making the future better.
Highly recommended for those who want to better understand what power can and should be defined by. It is also a call to action, from the local level on up, to make the change we need. This is not a zero-sum game, in fact, we will all gain when we begin to make amends for a past we may not have been alive for but have certainly received unwarranted benefits as a result of.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Goodreads.
This is a data-rich book that could benefit from a few visuals to highlight the points for readers who don't like grappling with a lot of statistics. That said, Perry's explanations are clear enough for most readers to follow along. If you tend to read through nonfiction books at a fast clip you might want to slow down a little and take the time to consider what is being presented. Yes, there are a lot of figures being offered. But they are contained in text that explains their importance and the relations between them. Even with some visuals a reader would need to understand the text to fully appreciate the argument. With a little work this book gives the reader accessible and valuable information.
Having said that, if you simply don't like working with a lot of numbers and data, read this the way you might read some science books, catch the ideas and a basic understanding of what the statistics are saying without diving into the nuance of each set of numbers. The ideas are important.
I enjoyed his discussion of reparations. A lot of the opposition to any reparations is the mistaken idea that reparations consist of just handing people money. It is so much more than that. Many things go into it and tackling some of them on a local or regional level, or through the companies that profited off of the harm done, we can work toward something on a national level that would be a forward-looking reparation policy that addresses past wrongs by making the future better.
Highly recommended for those who want to better understand what power can and should be defined by. It is also a call to action, from the local level on up, to make the change we need. This is not a zero-sum game, in fact, we will all gain when we begin to make amends for a past we may not have been alive for but have certainly received unwarranted benefits as a result of.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Goodreads.
March 12, 2025
Synopsis
Historically, Black Americans' quest for power has been understood as an attempt to gain equal protection under the law. However, power in America requires more than fundamental freedoms. It is inextricably linked with economic influence and ownership—of oneself, one's home, one's business, and one's creations.
Andre M. Perry draws on extensive research and analysis to quantify Black Americans' power, from property, business, and wealth to education, health, and social mobility. Black Power Scorecard moves across the country, evaluating people's ability to set the game's rules and calculating how that translates into the ultimate means of power—life itself and the longevity of Black communities. Along the way, Andre M. Perry identifies woefully overlooked areas of investment that could close the racial gap and benefit all.
Author Andre M. Perry looks at the truth of power, not just from an overall perspective of racial equality, but drills down into each aspect that leads to true power. His data-driven look at the pillars that serve as a foundation for wealth and power, things like business ventures, education, and home ownership, form the basis for true equality. Racial disparity harms all of us, and Perry proves that things like increasing the number of black business owners and homeowners can dramatically lift the economy for everyone. By looking at the idea of power through statistics, Perry shows the success by the numbers that many of these programs have had in the black community and why we need to continue to invest in them.
Historically, Black Americans' quest for power has been understood as an attempt to gain equal protection under the law. However, power in America requires more than fundamental freedoms. It is inextricably linked with economic influence and ownership—of oneself, one's home, one's business, and one's creations.
Andre M. Perry draws on extensive research and analysis to quantify Black Americans' power, from property, business, and wealth to education, health, and social mobility. Black Power Scorecard moves across the country, evaluating people's ability to set the game's rules and calculating how that translates into the ultimate means of power—life itself and the longevity of Black communities. Along the way, Andre M. Perry identifies woefully overlooked areas of investment that could close the racial gap and benefit all.
Author Andre M. Perry looks at the truth of power, not just from an overall perspective of racial equality, but drills down into each aspect that leads to true power. His data-driven look at the pillars that serve as a foundation for wealth and power, things like business ventures, education, and home ownership, form the basis for true equality. Racial disparity harms all of us, and Perry proves that things like increasing the number of black business owners and homeowners can dramatically lift the economy for everyone. By looking at the idea of power through statistics, Perry shows the success by the numbers that many of these programs have had in the black community and why we need to continue to invest in them.
April 7, 2025
With a focus on four key areas, the title Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close It by Andre M. Perry examines US-based racial inequality. A contemporary reassessment of the persistent gaps in criminal justice, economics, education, and health, this work attempts to examine why Black Americans continue to rank differently in areas of progress.
This title uses a proprietary scorecard to assess “progress-based” data-driven analytics. While rich in nuance, its examination of Black Americans’ perceived status and critique of the idea that affluence equates genuine progress will not appeal to casual readers or others who are not pursuing academic research.
Originally published in 2020, this book provides a national perspective on the ongoing struggles for racial equality and the barriers to it. The author maintains that to attain fundamental shifts, combined civic empowerment/engagement, restorative justice, and policy-based government intervention are needed.
This book makes a genuine attempt to inspire change and serves as a call to action. However, as it offers a more immediate perspective on longstanding issues, it does not address gender inequality. Additionally, it overlooks the fact that racial equality cannot be achieved without concrete steps to address gender inequality within Black communities.
I received an advance review copy in exchange for an honest, non-biased review.
This title uses a proprietary scorecard to assess “progress-based” data-driven analytics. While rich in nuance, its examination of Black Americans’ perceived status and critique of the idea that affluence equates genuine progress will not appeal to casual readers or others who are not pursuing academic research.
Originally published in 2020, this book provides a national perspective on the ongoing struggles for racial equality and the barriers to it. The author maintains that to attain fundamental shifts, combined civic empowerment/engagement, restorative justice, and policy-based government intervention are needed.
This book makes a genuine attempt to inspire change and serves as a call to action. However, as it offers a more immediate perspective on longstanding issues, it does not address gender inequality. Additionally, it overlooks the fact that racial equality cannot be achieved without concrete steps to address gender inequality within Black communities.
I received an advance review copy in exchange for an honest, non-biased review.
May 14, 2025
Very informative! I like how Perry illustrated some broad concepts with specific examples; Kalen's journey, for instance, helped me follow along with Perry's argument that Black folks need more capital, period, and how more investment in Black-owned business is warranted, and how Black financial growth (as a major facet of Black power) has long been stymied. Really appreciated how Perry clarified his scope in the beginning of his book; he's not attempting to provide on-the-ground actionable solutions, per se, but laying out the bigger picture and goals of Black power. Increasing the rates of Black homeownership, for example, is absolutely a goal, but he doesn't delve into the minutiae of how to go about that (just says zoning ordinances need to be changed to allow for multigenerational homes, for instance), though he does highlight challenges to doing so (Black home valuations not being nearly as high as those of white folks due to racism generally as well as racism that has directly resulted in large scale disinvestment in majority Black areas, etc.). Could write lots more here about so many of the things I've taken away from this read, but suffice it to say I will be recommending this to everyone I can and am happy to have won an advanced reader copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway in paperback. 4.5 stars, but gave it a 5 because it's such an important book and is well-written!
January 31, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was excited to receive *Black Power Scorecard* through a Goodreads giveaway, and it proved to be a compelling and thought-provoking read. The book takes a data-driven approach to examining racial disparities across various sectors, providing a clear and insightful analysis of where progress has been made—and where significant gaps still exist.
One of the book’s strengths is its use of measurable statistics to highlight systemic inequalities, making the issues feel both urgent and actionable. The author does an excellent job of balancing hard facts with accessible writing, ensuring that readers from all backgrounds can engage with the material. Additionally, the book doesn’t just diagnose the problem—it offers concrete steps for individuals, organizations, and policymakers to help bridge the racial gap.
While the book is incredibly informative, at times, I wished for even more in-depth exploration of certain topics or case studies to add more personal narratives to the data. However, overall, it’s a valuable and necessary read for anyone interested in racial equity, policy change, and social justice. I highly recommend it to those looking for both awareness and solutions!
I was excited to receive *Black Power Scorecard* through a Goodreads giveaway, and it proved to be a compelling and thought-provoking read. The book takes a data-driven approach to examining racial disparities across various sectors, providing a clear and insightful analysis of where progress has been made—and where significant gaps still exist.
One of the book’s strengths is its use of measurable statistics to highlight systemic inequalities, making the issues feel both urgent and actionable. The author does an excellent job of balancing hard facts with accessible writing, ensuring that readers from all backgrounds can engage with the material. Additionally, the book doesn’t just diagnose the problem—it offers concrete steps for individuals, organizations, and policymakers to help bridge the racial gap.
While the book is incredibly informative, at times, I wished for even more in-depth exploration of certain topics or case studies to add more personal narratives to the data. However, overall, it’s a valuable and necessary read for anyone interested in racial equity, policy change, and social justice. I highly recommend it to those looking for both awareness and solutions!
May 14, 2025
Won a paperback ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. 4.25/4.5 stars rounded up. Learned a lot! For example, I've definitely come away with a better understanding of just how important homeownership is in general, how it ties to health outcomes, and how disproportionate the rate is in this country between white folks and folks of color. Learned more about the significance of capital in perpetuating wealth, particularly beyond individual capital or intergenerational wealth and in regard to communal wealth (e.g., folks collectively investing in reviving commercial properties such as strip malls). Perry's writing style is straightforward, relatable, and logical/factual. I likewise found his explanation regarding not aspiring to white forms of power refreshing (e.g., how Jay-Z was wrong to lament Beyoncé not being awarded Album of the Year because that's just upholding white forms of power and furthering white norms). Thankful for this book and its great examples. Appreciate how it outlines meaningful goals for furthering Black power, explains why those goals are worth investing in, and how it dispels popular beliefs about Black power by showing why some goals aren't actually helpful.
October 25, 2025
Black Power Scorecard is a powerful, data-driven examination of how systemic inequities translate into real disparities in ownership, opportunity, and influence across Black America. Andre M. Perry known for his bold, evidence-based approach to racial economics delivers a book that feels both urgent and deeply clarifying.
Through extensive research and sharp analysis, Perry reframes conversations about inequality into one central question: how much power do Black Americans actually hold? By quantifying access to property, education, business ownership, health, and longevity, he creates a comprehensive metric of racial power that exposes the structural imbalances still embedded in modern systems.
But what makes this work exceptional is its forward-looking stance. Rather than simply describing disparity, Black Power Scorecard offers a blueprint for change pinpointing investment opportunities, policy shifts, and community initiatives that could genuinely close the power gap. It’s both an analytical and visionary contribution to America’s ongoing reckoning with race, wealth, and justice.
Through extensive research and sharp analysis, Perry reframes conversations about inequality into one central question: how much power do Black Americans actually hold? By quantifying access to property, education, business ownership, health, and longevity, he creates a comprehensive metric of racial power that exposes the structural imbalances still embedded in modern systems.
But what makes this work exceptional is its forward-looking stance. Rather than simply describing disparity, Black Power Scorecard offers a blueprint for change pinpointing investment opportunities, policy shifts, and community initiatives that could genuinely close the power gap. It’s both an analytical and visionary contribution to America’s ongoing reckoning with race, wealth, and justice.
May 1, 2025
Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close It by Andre M. Perry provides some strategies for closing the racial gap in the American Landscape. The ideas in this book are easy to understand and provides actionable solutions without specific implementation details. The only failure with the implementation of the book, is that it does not actually provide the summary of these ideas and how to measure them in a final chapter and in an actual scorecard format.
Thank you Henry Holt & Company | Metropolitan Books, Netgalley, and Goodreads for the opportunity to read this in an eBook and print format. All opinions are my own.
Rating: 3 Stars
Pub Date: Apr 15 2025
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Thank you Henry Holt & Company | Metropolitan Books, Netgalley, and Goodreads for the opportunity to read this in an eBook and print format. All opinions are my own.
Rating: 3 Stars
Pub Date: Apr 15 2025
#HenryHoldandCompany
#MetropolitanBooks
#BlackPowerScorecard
#AndreMPerry
#RacialEquality
#RacialEcomomics
#YarisBookNook
#NetGalley
#Goodreads
April 28, 2025
Good informative book. I feel like there was a good amount of balance between telling the reader information and citing the information. The flow of the book was very nice and easy to follow. It does bring up a lot of very important facts and correlations between African Americans and the limitations that have been put on them and other POC to prevent any sort of forward momentum. It has a nice call to action to help to united states take a step in a forward motion when it comes to aiding those who have been all but forced into a detrimental living experience and limited life expectancy from factors that are all but out of their control. Books like this need to be shared in this day and age to help inform those with closed visions about the experiences and hardships of others.
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October 25, 2025
Andre M. Perry's book, Black Power Scorecard, lays out information and facts about the power Black Americans have within the United States. Using both data and analysis alongside personal antidotes and experiences, Perry provides both insight into the struggle Black Americans have had gaining equal footing alongside the misconceptions of what brought Black Americans to this place.
I thought the pacing of the book was well done and it is laid out in an easy to understand format. I particularly liked how Perry focused on providing data and research to back up his statements and the possible solutions to closing the racial gap within the US.
An eye opening read that I'd recommend to all.
Thank you Henry Holt for the gifted copy.
I thought the pacing of the book was well done and it is laid out in an easy to understand format. I particularly liked how Perry focused on providing data and research to back up his statements and the possible solutions to closing the racial gap within the US.
An eye opening read that I'd recommend to all.
Thank you Henry Holt for the gifted copy.
January 15, 2025
The only one-star ratings for this book have to be coming from a place of bad faith, because how can you be offended by MEASURING?! Perry makes sure every paragraph circles a data point, no one is trying to sell you their opinion. Black Power Scorecard goes through all the interlocking factors in the U.S., modern and timeworn, that still need to see measurable improvements to meet the needs of the black community. If I start stating those factors, and what's in the data accompanying them, I'm afraid trolls will come for me, so please, go read the book.
April 29, 2025
I’m glad to have read this book, as I learned a lot about the often silent and invisible after effects of slavery that touch literally all aspects of black people’s lives. I was admittedly overwhelmed by the vastness of these trickledown effects that I found myself zoning out amongst the large amounts of data. I was longing for more specific, local, concrete things that I could wrap my head around, things that I could apply to my local area that would help right the ship so to speak. All in all, a good read and one that everyone would benefit from picking up.
September 23, 2025
While I do appreciate the insight of measuring success of a community by their life expectancy/longevity, this book will be placed within the shelves of other black empowerment books with no special bookmarks.
In the end, we'll need more action and execution of Andre's data-driven ideas along with others. I am taking some of this into financial empowerment workshops provided to the black community.
The concepts, real life examples, and practical theories in this book could certainly help and not hinder the black community. Let's keep it up.
In the end, we'll need more action and execution of Andre's data-driven ideas along with others. I am taking some of this into financial empowerment workshops provided to the black community.
The concepts, real life examples, and practical theories in this book could certainly help and not hinder the black community. Let's keep it up.
August 27, 2025
‼️‼️ Won through a giveaway ‼️‼️
This book is so important no matter what your race is. Read and learn about history. Learn about racism and how people of color are still experiencing it in their day-to-day lives. Read and LEARN. Learn how to help. Learn whats wrong and whats right. Don’t stop learning!!
This book is so important no matter what your race is. Read and learn about history. Learn about racism and how people of color are still experiencing it in their day-to-day lives. Read and LEARN. Learn how to help. Learn whats wrong and whats right. Don’t stop learning!!
August 18, 2025
I agree with much of this book. The information filled in some holes of knowledge I had which was nice. Its the type of short and quick book that everyone should read but many people wont. This book inspired me to continue one of my investment property strategies.
June 25, 2025
I’m still digesting the information I’ve acquired and trying to reframe how I understand wealth, success, and the disparities present.
May 5, 2025
This is a well-researched book. So many citations are at the back of the book, and I assume an index in the final copy. I received an early review book. As someone who didn't know what Juneteenth was until I turned 40, I love that there is so much knowledge in this book. I learned a lot and highly recommend this book.
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