Being Black, Living in the Red: Race, Wealth, and Social Policy in America, 10th Anniversary Edition, with a New Afterword

by Dalton Conley

Book Overview

Being Black, Living in the Red demonstrates that many differences between blacks and whites stem not from race but from economic inequalities that have accumulated over the course of American history. Property ownership--as measured by net worth--reflects this legacy of economic oppression. The racial discrepancy in wealth holdings leads to advantages for whites in the form of better schools, more desirable residences, higher wages, and more opportunities to save, invest, and thereby further their economic advantages. A new afterword by the author summarizes Conley's recent research on racial differences in wealth mobility and security and discusses potential policy solutions to the racial asset gap and America's low savings rate more generally.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520261305
• ISBN13: 9780520261303
• Release Date: December 2009
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Great text on social policy

I originally purchased this book when it came out about 7 years ago and just reread it again. It provides great insight into the inequality between races in this country. Highly recommended.

One of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read

This book is both meticulous and very clearly written. Every time I had, while reading Conley's analysis, a nagging question in the back of my head, he went on to address it in far more detail than had even occurred to me. Perhaps because of this thoroughness, _Being Black, Living in the Red_ fundamentally altered the way I think about certain social policies, and about race and wealth in general. It also interested me in sociology of inequality, a field about which I had known nothing. The book is incredibly informative about a matter of great public importance, but I appreciated that Conley seemed wary of overstating his case. I truly felt I was getting an honest, and extremely skillful, evaluation of the evidence.Under the circumstances, I'd be hard pressed to do anything but advise you to read this book at the first chance you get.

A very readable academic book that also has the data.

I was at my host's house at this book was on his table. I spent the whole weeking reading Conley's eye opening work on in-equality. This book is an absolute must for any person who lives in today's world. Of course, it should be an absolute must for our universities.

A must read for any serious human being in today's world.

This is a compilation of hard data that answers the author of the "Bell Curve." Conley rephrases old arguments about wealth and race. In this book, he puts stereotypes of the African American to rest.

The best book ever on economic inequity between races

It finally answers the race/financial inequity question I have had my entire life, but couldn't quite put my finger on or articulate. Via non-academic prose and statistical analysis it touches a very sensitive and raw subject that has never been addressed in a way that seemed petinent to my life as this book does. This answers questions I have had my entire life.