The Black Tax: The Cost of Being Black in America

by Shawn D Rochester

While Black Americans have long felt the devastating effects of anti-black discrimination, they have often had great difficulty articulating and substantiating both the existence and impact of that discrimination to an American public who is convinced that it no longer exists. Professionals in academia, the media, and the business community, along with people in the general public have struggled to explain the significant and persistent gaps (in wealth, employment, achievement and poverty) between Black and White communities in what they perceive to be a post racial America.

In his new book The Black Tax: The Cost of being Black in America, Shawn Rochester shows how The Black Tax (which is the financial cost of conscious and unconscious anti-black discrimination), creates a massive financial burden on Black American households that dramatically reduces their ability to leave a substantial legacy for future generations. Mr. Rochester lays out an extraordinarily compelling case which documents the enormous financial cost of current and past anti-black discrimination on African American households. The Black Tax, provides the fact pattern, data and evidence to substantiate what African Americans have long experienced and tried to convey to an unbelieving American public.

Backed by an exceptional amount of research, Mr. Rochester not only highlights the extraordinary cost of the discrimination that African Americans currently face, but also explores the massive cost of past discrimination to explain why after 400 years Black Americans own only about 2% of American wealth. He then establishes a framework that Black Americans and other concerned parties can use to eliminate this tax and help create the 6 million jobs and 1.4 million businesses that are missing from the Black community.

The Black Tax takes the reader through a complete paradigm shift that causes the reader to evaluate all forms of spending and investment in terms of the number of jobs created or businesses developed within the Black community.
The Black Tax is immensely informative, thoroughly engaging and makes one of the most compelling and effective cases to commercialize Black businesses since the founding of the Negro Business League in 1910.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Economics, Race, Business

136 pages, Paperback

Published January 15, 2018

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Often when people are talking about discrimination, we're talking about the morality of it, we're talking about the injustice associated with it, and I wanted to take a different look at it. I wanted to look at the financial cost." Shawn D Rochester from his Talks at Google presentation

I've been diving into African American history recently, and amazed at what I never learned in K-12 or in University about the African American experience. What I appreciate about Rochester's book is that he clearly outlines, with substantial data, the economic impact of systemic discrimination and oppression. It's mind boggling, and really illustrates how historical actions, from slavery onward, still have tremendous impact on the financial well-being of African Americans today. For example, consider the impact of lack of inherited wealth over the generations, when freed former slaves started with literally nothing upon emancipation.

This is a pretty quick read, but you get a lot of out it. I appreciate that he was able to make his case and deliver his message so quickly and with such impact. My next step is to research Black-owned businesses and make a conscious effort to add them to the list of places I patronize.

[Paul Canselo Bey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written. If you don't inner stand privilege and suppression, this book is making the two differences very clear. Best of all, this is not based on emotions, its based on facts that can easily be research. Brilliant book.

[Terrence Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening collection of facts with sound "next steps"

[Kvon Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening, depressing, energizing, angrying, and motivating!

[D. Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an insightful book that investigates the cost of being Black in America from slavery times until today. It points out how we arrived to the circumstances we live in today and what we can do individually to help build our own communities up through stewardship, ownership, and legacy. I highly recommend everyone give this book a read.

[Richard Frierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pointed, educational, and actionable

Great insights into the various forms of discrimination imposed on black Americans but with the added affect of the financial impact quantified

[Nathaniel Robinson, · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relevant

This book was definitely a good read! I like the statistics and numbers in this book, as they made everything black and white.

[John Laliberte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting overview of the financial impact of racial injustice.

Great detail with ample references to satisfy virtually all critics. While the detail was excellent, I missed the importance of primary education - he focused on the cost of graduate level education. I would have like to see the need to deal with the challenge of racism as a whole. This has been handled by recent books more thoroughly, so maybe focusing on this aspect was appropriate.

I also appreciated the emphasis on Black supporting Black businesses and banks. The "internal development" as expressed by opportunity of purchasing, hiring, and depositing (PHD - cleaver!) is an important contribution to this body of work.

[K.N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of thorough stats for the scope and cause of the racial wealth gap, and presses the black community to invest and support black business. It’s a slim book though, as every chapter has a summary and the conclusion lists all the main points and stats again.

[Charles Hoskins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Informative book

A well written informational book...I like the way at the end of each chapter the break down of the monetary cost that blacks suffered throughout American history...

[Kara Merry]

Astonishing but true. Hard to fathom this inhumanity and our ignorance of it and around it. I am glad I read it. Develops knowledge of the racism ingrained in America. Sad.

[Cory Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book provides a plethora of information; however, it did not convince me of a plan of action if there are really discriminatory practices.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading. Redundant at times but almost all of us could do to hear this information several times.

[Tommy Tang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful read for Black History Month

[Eula C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. Makes you really think about the implicit and explicit bias that exists. Then to understand that there is a cost that is connected to the bias.