The Color of Wealth book tour stirs talk about racial wealth divide
The Color of Wealth book tour stirs talk about racial wealth divide
The five Color of Wealth co-authors have fanned out across the US, doing 28 events on the roots of the race gap in 23 cities so far, with 17 more to come.
We’ve taped up our 8-foot timeline of government wealth boosts and blocks onto bookstore shelves, onto posters in non-profit conference rooms, onto gilt mirrors in elegant restaurants, onto the cement walls of a homeless drop-in center, and onto classroom blackboards.
We’ve heard very enthusiastic reactions to our “Starting Line” exercise, in which participants take steps forward and back based on how government policies affected their family history. When they are spread across the room — with most Black, Latino and Native American people far behind; most WASPs and other white Americans far ahead; and most recent immigrants, Jews and Asians clustered near the middle line — we tell them that these are their starting lines in a race to wealth. It’s often a profound moment, gazing at the wide racial disparity in starting lines — a revelation for some people, a vindication for others. Participants have cried, argued, had “aha!” moments, and told painful stories they had never shared outside their families before.
“I thought all I had to do was not be prejudiced,” said one white participant, “but now I see that’s not true. I have to face the advantages my family got, and make sure that everyone can get them from now on.”
As an African American participant wrote us afterwards, the workshop “will help me take a stronger stand in asking for what I want and need and why I should be entitled to get it. It has shown me why I must hold the government accountable.”
The co-authors have also reached millions of radio listeners via interviews on over 55 radio shows, including national Air America, commercial and NPR shows.
Four ways you can help spread the word about The Color of Wealth — without spending a cent
1. Write five-star reviews on Amazon.com and Powells.com. (The number of reviews and stars affects how high the book will come up in topic searches.)
2. Ask your local library to carry The Color of Wealth.
3. Recommend the book to your friends and colleagues by e-mailing them a personal note along with this link to information about The Color of Wealth [http://www.racialwealthdivide.org/color_of_wealth/book.html]
4. If you or your organizations have websites, please post a review or a link to the book’s website. [http://www.colorofwealth.org]
With your help The Color of Wealth can raise the awareness and the hope of hundreds of thousands more people.
--
from United for a Fair Economy July 2006 newsletter
The five Color of Wealth co-authors have fanned out across the US, doing 28 events on the roots of the race gap in 23 cities so far, with 17 more to come.
We’ve taped up our 8-foot timeline of government wealth boosts and blocks onto bookstore shelves, onto posters in non-profit conference rooms, onto gilt mirrors in elegant restaurants, onto the cement walls of a homeless drop-in center, and onto classroom blackboards.
We’ve heard very enthusiastic reactions to our “Starting Line” exercise, in which participants take steps forward and back based on how government policies affected their family history. When they are spread across the room — with most Black, Latino and Native American people far behind; most WASPs and other white Americans far ahead; and most recent immigrants, Jews and Asians clustered near the middle line — we tell them that these are their starting lines in a race to wealth. It’s often a profound moment, gazing at the wide racial disparity in starting lines — a revelation for some people, a vindication for others. Participants have cried, argued, had “aha!” moments, and told painful stories they had never shared outside their families before.
“I thought all I had to do was not be prejudiced,” said one white participant, “but now I see that’s not true. I have to face the advantages my family got, and make sure that everyone can get them from now on.”
As an African American participant wrote us afterwards, the workshop “will help me take a stronger stand in asking for what I want and need and why I should be entitled to get it. It has shown me why I must hold the government accountable.”
The co-authors have also reached millions of radio listeners via interviews on over 55 radio shows, including national Air America, commercial and NPR shows.
Four ways you can help spread the word about The Color of Wealth — without spending a cent
1. Write five-star reviews on Amazon.com and Powells.com. (The number of reviews and stars affects how high the book will come up in topic searches.)
2. Ask your local library to carry The Color of Wealth.
3. Recommend the book to your friends and colleagues by e-mailing them a personal note along with this link to information about The Color of Wealth [http://www.racialwealthdivide.org/color_of_wealth/book.html]
4. If you or your organizations have websites, please post a review or a link to the book’s website. [http://www.colorofwealth.org]
With your help The Color of Wealth can raise the awareness and the hope of hundreds of thousands more people.
--
from United for a Fair Economy July 2006 newsletter
posted by robin reichhardt at 11:44 AM
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