The white wall How big finance bankrupts black America

Wall Street's sexual harassment issues are well-known, but its racism has flown more under the radar, argues New York Times reporter Flitter in her searing debut. The racial wealth gap is only getting worse, she writes, and racism in banking and finance is "perhaps the devastating force that prevents Black Americans from gaining equal footing in the United States." Flitter presents disturbing stories of the systemic discrimination faced by Black bank account holders, mortgage applicants, and bankers themselves as they navigate hostile workplaces. Among the situations Flitter documents, insurers refused to pay out to Black policyholders; a Wells Fargo branch called the police on a woman trying to cash a check, suspecting it was fraudulent; employees at Edward Jones worked from "the kitchen table or car" with no office; and one financial firm asserted that "an employee's claim of discrimination could not be true because the firm had a policy of not tolerating discrimination." It's damning, and Flitter does a great job of explaining why things don't change: "People involved in the financial industry seem to rely on the fact that most people outside of it regard it as beyond their understanding." This evisceration of Wall Street's "private, ugly reality" packs a punch. Agent: Betsy Lerner, Dunow, Carlson & Learner. (Oct.) x x xc sa

Damning exposé of the essential racism of the American financial system. There's a racial wealth gap in America, with numerous hurdles placed in the way of minorities--especially Black men and women--who must contend with differential rates of pay, discriminatory lending, and the inability to accumulate intergenerational wealth. In her debut book, New York Times reporter Flitter examines that story in numerous insightful ways. One reason Black people have trouble getting loans is that there are so few Black financial advisers and bank officers to serve their needs. As the author notes, even Sheila Johnson, one of the wealthiest Black people in America, "with a fortune worth hundreds of millions of dollars," was denied a loan when she tried to launch a luxury resort. Banks routinely issue memos headed "Please Use Caution" that target Black customers, who, it's seemingly assumed, should not possess large checks. That's one reason, Flitter points out, that check-cashing businesses flourish in Black neighborhoods, as well as the fact that those businesses are transparent about fees rather than layering on unadvertised charges, as banks do. The fact that there are Black neighborhoods to begin with connects to lending practices that discriminate against Black borrowers, "redlining" mortgages and charging higher rates than those for White customers, and to the fact that Black bank employees who want to track over to the wealthier "private client" side of the house are shunted off to lower-income neighborhoods without high-ticket accounts. Unfortunately, as the author shows, discrimination is everywhere. "It is common knowledge that insurance companies routinely look for reasons to deny claims," she writes, "and that poor customers' cases are the easiest to dispose of because those customers are the least likely to fight a denial." Everywhere the dollar extends, by her searing account, minority communities are excluded. A rousing body of evidence in favor of activist reform of financial practices, from ordinary loans to reparations. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.