Black Wealth/White Wealth: Pitzer’s Book Club reads President Oliver’s seminal work

Whenever I hear the question, ‘Am I surprised about issues of race being in the forefront?’ I am not surprised. This has been the Achilles heel of America since its founding.

President Melvin L. Oliver

When Pitzer President Melvin L. Oliver and and Brandeis University Professor Thomas M. Shapiro’s book Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality was published in 1995, it changed the national conversation about the long-term financial impact of systemic racism in America. Twenty-five years later, the Pitzer College Alumni & Family Book Club picked Black Wealth/White Wealth as its first book of 2021. President Oliver and Professor Shapiro joined the book club for a virtual discussion this spring. To hear what they had to say about how to better understand and better address the racial wealth gap in the US, watch their talk, “The Racial Wealth Gap and Social Progress in Wealth Equality.”

To learn more about the book club, visit the Pitzer College Alumni & Family Book Club page.