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