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IRS Please Read…
Letter /Book Review — Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Improvishes Black Americans-And How We Can Fix It
Dear Dorothy A. Brown,
As tax season comes to an end, there is no better time to prepare for any future financial battles with the IRS. If I were to hire a tax auditor or lawyer, I would choose you, Dorothy A. Brown. After reading your book The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans — And How We Can Fix it, there is no doubt in my mind that you are who I would need on my side to file a tax complaint against the IRS. I’ve helped my mother and grandmother do their taxes, just like you did your parent’s — James and Dottie Brown’s — taxes.
Anyone else who is to read your book would certainly agree with me that you, Dorothy, are exactly the tax and legal expert someone would need on their side to expose racism in the American taxation system.
Your book, The Whiteness of Wealth, is a powerful and groundbreaking read. Your book displays your strong understanding of how racial inequality is built right into the core of American society — the financial system. Your book gives a deep dive into the tax code with incisive data. Your commentary on how race is baked into wealth disparities in America touches close to home for me, and I’m sure many other readers.
As a child who grew up in a single-parent household, headed by my mother Lizzie Reed, we relied heavily on support from Ruby and Ab Smith — my grandmother and grandfather. I realized early on that a working or middle-class lifestyle was not really a likely path toward creating wealth. As a child, my mind told me that I would be better off being either extremely clueless and poor or filthy rich. Now that I’m older, this book has been an eye-opening read that gives insight into how racism limits so many Black Americans financially.
While reading, I found it quite interesting to learn that as a result of your childhood observation of police brutality and educational inequities you choose a career in accounting and taxes to avoid the complications of race. I think growing up Black in America makes us look at money and finances in different ways.
