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The White Wall: How Big Finance Bankrupts Black America
A deeply reported, “important, and infuriating” (The Guardian) look at the systemic racism inside the American financial services industry, from acclaimed New York Times finance reporter Emily Flitter.
In 2018, Emily Flitter received a tip that Morgan Stanley had fired a Black employee without cause. Flitter had been searching for a way to investigate the deep-rooted racism in the American financial industry, and that one tip lit the sparkplug for a three-year journey through the shocking yet normalized corruption in our financial institutions.
Examining local insurance agencies and corporate titans like JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock, and Wells Fargo and reveals the practices that have kept the racial wealth gap practically as wide as it was during the Jim Crow era. Flitter exposes hiring and layoff policies designed to keep Black employees from advancing to high levels; racial profiling of customers in internal emails between bank tellers; major insurers refusing to pay Black policyholders’ claims; and the systematic denial of funding to Black entrepreneurs. She also gives a voice to victims, from single mothers to professional athletes to employees themselves: people who were scammed, lied to, and defrauded by the systems they trusted with their money, and silenced when they attempted to speak out and seek reform.
Flitter connects the dots between data, history, legal scholarship, and powerful personal stories to provide a “must-read wake-up call” (Valerie Red-Horse Mohl, president of KNOWN Holdings) about what it means to bank while Black. As America continues to confront systemic racism and pave a path forward, The White Wall is an essential examination of one of its most caustic contributors.
In 2018, Emily Flitter received a tip that Morgan Stanley had fired a Black employee without cause. Flitter had been searching for a way to investigate the deep-rooted racism in the American financial industry, and that one tip lit the sparkplug for a three-year journey through the shocking yet normalized corruption in our financial institutions.
Examining local insurance agencies and corporate titans like JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock, and Wells Fargo and reveals the practices that have kept the racial wealth gap practically as wide as it was during the Jim Crow era. Flitter exposes hiring and layoff policies designed to keep Black employees from advancing to high levels; racial profiling of customers in internal emails between bank tellers; major insurers refusing to pay Black policyholders’ claims; and the systematic denial of funding to Black entrepreneurs. She also gives a voice to victims, from single mothers to professional athletes to employees themselves: people who were scammed, lied to, and defrauded by the systems they trusted with their money, and silenced when they attempted to speak out and seek reform.
Flitter connects the dots between data, history, legal scholarship, and powerful personal stories to provide a “must-read wake-up call” (Valerie Red-Horse Mohl, president of KNOWN Holdings) about what it means to bank while Black. As America continues to confront systemic racism and pave a path forward, The White Wall is an essential examination of one of its most caustic contributors.
Audiobook
First published October 25, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
October 26, 2022
“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.
…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.
October 21, 2023
This book is both oversimplified and too in-the-weeds at the same time. Tough to keep track of all the individuals that the book follows. And I felt like I was reading a long form article rather than a book. I anticipated the author would focus on the history of discriminatory lending practices and perhaps touch on other areas of discrimination in banking, but it was more focused on employment discrimination within the banking industry. Still, it bounced around between a lot of different areas of discrimination in a way that felt disjointed and unfocused. I acknowledge, however, that my perspective on this book may have been influenced in part by the audiobook narration style, which rubbed me the wrong way. Ultimately, I wouldn’t recommend this book. I’m sure there are others out there on the topic that are more informative and more enjoyable reads.
December 27, 2022
I first heard of this author from her article "This Is What Racism Sounds Like in the Banking Industry" and I have been so impressed with her reporting. This book is well researched, easy to comprehend, and doesn't lose the thread of discrimination within each of the chapters.
This book is so important to anyone working in banking! I had an assumption going into this book that I wouldn't learn too many new things - I know about redlining, am familiar with how badly bank's have discriminated in the past - and I still was blown away by how bad things are! I'm sure a huge part of that is from my lived experience as a white person, but seriously things are NOT on track to where they should be. I was really shocked by some of the stories of HR retaliating against employees who reported racist managers, companies who systemically disadvantage black financial advisors they try to recruit, and SO many other things. This is a really important book and I'm so glad it was written.
This book is so important to anyone working in banking! I had an assumption going into this book that I wouldn't learn too many new things - I know about redlining, am familiar with how badly bank's have discriminated in the past - and I still was blown away by how bad things are! I'm sure a huge part of that is from my lived experience as a white person, but seriously things are NOT on track to where they should be. I was really shocked by some of the stories of HR retaliating against employees who reported racist managers, companies who systemically disadvantage black financial advisors they try to recruit, and SO many other things. This is a really important book and I'm so glad it was written.
July 8, 2023
First 3/4 of the book is enlightening and full of interesting narrative and storytelling. I found myself slugging through the last quarter or so, which focused on the path forward to undo the harms of such a system or “wall”. I also wanted there to be more finite data and data analysis, but still, there’s value in the stories Flitter brings to light in this piece.
March 6, 2024
Just ok. Agree with another reviewer that there is far, far too much focus on employment discrimination and specific annecdotes from former employees. More engagement with the history and present situations in fair housing, fair lending, regulations, etc. would have been beneficial and made for a stronger case. The section on reparations seemed like a throw away and not seriously engaged with. There's probably loads of data journalism that could have been layered in to strengthen the personal stories. I think the author makes a good case that financial services has a problem, but some discussion of how it fares in comparison to other industries, how large firms compare with small firms, etc. would have made the arguments stronger.
June 14, 2023
Loved this so much!! Also nothing like a good non fiction to really get me out of a rough reading place. This was so sad to read but the stories she shares are so compelling I couldn’t stop listening to it. It also helped me understand systemic racism better and be aware of how this impacts people of color in recent history. Definitely would recommend to everyone to read- and there are a few resources mentioned that I want to follow up on as well from the book.
September 11, 2023
Worth a read but definitely a beginners level approach to the topic… journalistic limitations and all that
May 17, 2023
4 stars - An eye opening portrayal of the finance world. True stories from all aspects of the industry, both for customers and employees.
June 24, 2023
A collection of anecdotes and stories that would have been stronger if it had been supported by any of the empirical research or statistics that exist on the subject. Instead its a superficial dive into the topic that could have been much stronger by a larger commitment by the author. All in all, a disappointment because it could have been better in the hands of a more thorough journalist. It also didn't need to be written in such a large font size with such wide line spacing. Easily doubled the length, or more, unnecessarily.
May 20, 2022
I knew very little about this subject before reading this book. It's a really quick read, and really interesting (as well as infuriating due to what's happening). I've also come out more in favor of reparations than before. Also, I had never heard of the idea of including certain corporations in reparations before, but the author makes a very good case for it.
Disclaimer: I read a digital review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclaimer: I read a digital review copy provided by the publisher.
May 25, 2023
Interesting opinion piece without few facts to support statements. Conclusion was abrupt without solutions.
April 10, 2023
This is a must-read book. I regularly try to educate myself about the social and financial injustices that Black Americans face. There is a mountain of evidence that Black Americans are held back financially, and this then leads to other systemic issues. I grabbed this book because Emily Flitter took a different angle, which discusses Black Americans trying to work in the financial industry and on Wall Street.
Usually, I’m not a fan of books that tell a bunch of stories, but Flitter is an incredible writer, and I binged this book. She details so many stories of Black people trying to work their way up in big finance only to be held back due to racism. Black Americans often try to work in oppressive systems so they can change them from the inside, and this book shows just how difficult that actually is.
I also dislike history, but Flitter captured my attention with the history of how Black people have been held back financially in America and how it has ramifications today.
Usually, I’m not a fan of books that tell a bunch of stories, but Flitter is an incredible writer, and I binged this book. She details so many stories of Black people trying to work their way up in big finance only to be held back due to racism. Black Americans often try to work in oppressive systems so they can change them from the inside, and this book shows just how difficult that actually is.
I also dislike history, but Flitter captured my attention with the history of how Black people have been held back financially in America and how it has ramifications today.
May 1, 2023
Eye-opening and excellently structured book - necessary reading for anyone working in finance. The Insurance chapter is what really got my blood boiling over racial injustices, and that led into the chapter on how AI technology is built (of particular relevance to today). I felt like those key chapters led to and ignited the fuel in the case for reparations later on in the book. The reporting is careful in not showing biases; the book doesn't go after any one financial institution, it shares case examples of all of them bearing social responsibility to be more aware and less racist from within internal cultures of banks to the markets and beyond.
March 22, 2023
An important book to be written, though it can be a hard read (and clearly at least fifty other books could be written on different and/or related topics, as Flitter notes in the introduction.) A mix of statistics, Flitter's journalistic investigations and real-world stories about the mistreatment, harassment and blatant racism that black folks have experience in banking, insurance, Wall Street, etc. that ends on a slightly hopeful note.
April 16, 2023
This is a book about how status quo is maintained in the finance industry to deny Black entrepreneurs, or customers the benefits that white entrepreneurs and customers receive. To expose the racism within the financial industry give us the tools to change the processes that maintain the racism. Banks won't be forth coming with the information without laws, but whoever is in charge of the laws may maintain the status quo as well. A lot of work for white people to change this industry.
May 20, 2023
3.5 rounded up. It's one thing to know things are not equal, it's another to see it all brought together in one narrative. Mindblowing and heartwrenching. First half was more engaging than the second half. Glad I have more understanding and awareness of the situation but wish there was something I could do.
December 21, 2022
The quiet service and its destructive influence
This book introduced me to an industry whose racial animus is out of control. I wonder how it will take to make inroads into such a destructive business?
This book introduced me to an industry whose racial animus is out of control. I wonder how it will take to make inroads into such a destructive business?
March 7, 2023
I picked up this book for a report topic...and I kept reading out of fascination and horror. As a bank employee, especially in a work from home environment, I don't see this type of discrimination first hand. It's harrowing and heartbreaking...and definitely something everyone should acknowledge.
March 23, 2023
Income inequality is a much bigger problem than just an earnings gap. Learn more in this highly researched, wonderfully written book. The author is a natural narrator. Be prepared to learn shocking stuff.
July 12, 2023
I'm not sure who would find this book enjoyable, but informative, yes, interesting, yes, powerful, yes, necessary, yes, upsetting, yes. It's the story of racism in the financial world. Some of the stories are just gut-punching and so important. Every finance person should read this.
Want to read
October 29, 2022“Anti-Racism Daily” Newsletter: https://twitter.com/FlitterOnFraud/st...
November 10, 2022
More concrete solutions would be a great addition. The chapter on it was not as robust as I'd have hoped.
January 14, 2023
I cannot believe that in this day and age that racism is still going strong. It saddens, no, angers me. Thank-you for writing this.
February 4, 2023
Powerful, infuriating, incredibly clear.
March 12, 2023
Eye-opening. The perfect mix of statistics and personal stories. Flitter is an amazing author that keeps you gripped to the story the whole way through.
April 1, 2023
More stories of individualized racism versus systematic okay book
June 2, 2023
Ok historical overview of racial issues in banking and finance. Red-lining etc
April 5, 2024
This book is more anecdotal and unfortunately doesn’t offer any real solutions, but it was an informative read.
February 16, 2023
Even those of us studying and working at the intersection of finance and technology should be aware of the tremendous impact banking has not just on shareholders and customers in general, but on different societal groups. Just as the books on the history of money highlight the amazing benefits of financial innovation to our lives, New York Times journalist Emily Flitter points out how the missing access to banking services and the way they are sometimes set up can put a certain group at a disadvantage. Even if you are setting up an AI algorithm, it is always worth considering whether it is disadvantaging some of your customers. There might be biases you are unaware of. Flitter’s book is skillfully written, thoroughly researched, and overall an enjoyable read.
January 4, 2023
At first, I thought this book was going to mostly be about low-income Black Americans that are affected by White Wall Street. While that discussion is included, I appreciated how this book also focused on middle/upper middle class/wealthy Black Americans too. This book was so engrossing, my husband frequently peeked over my shoulder to read excerpts himself, something he never does. This book also encouraged us to discuss #BankingBlack, a topic I hadn’t known he was actively researching already. My criticism is that this book ended too abruptly!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews