The Black Tax

The Cost of Being Black in America

By: Shawn D. Rochester

Narrated by: Derrick E. Hardin

While Black Americans have long felt the devastating effects of anti-black discrimination, they have often had great difficulty articulating and substantiating both the existence and impact of that discrimination to an American public who is convinced that it no longer exists. Professionals in academia, the media, and the business community, along with people in the general public have struggled to explain the significant and persistent gaps (in wealth, employment, achievement and poverty) between Black and White communities in what they perceive to be a post racial America.

In his new book The Black Tax: The Cost of Being Black in America, Shawn Rochester shows how "The Black Tax" (which is the financial cost of conscious and unconscious anti-black discrimination), creates a massive financial burden on Black American households that dramatically reduces their ability to leave a substantial legacy for future generations. Mr. Rochester lays out an extraordinarily compelling case which documents the enormous financial cost of current and past anti-black discrimination on African American households.

The Black Tax, provides the fact pattern, data and evidence to substantiate what African Americans have long experienced and tried to convey to an unbelieving American public. Backed by an exceptional amount of research, Mr. Rochester not only highlights the extraordinary cost of the discrimination that African Americans currently face, but also explores the massive cost of past discrimination to explain why after 400 years Black Americans own only about 2% of American wealth. He then establishes a framework that Black Americans and other concerned parties can use to eliminate this tax and help create the 6 million jobs and 1.4 million businesses that are missing from the Black community.

©2017 Shawn D. Rochester (P)2020 Shawn D. Rochester

Eye Opening Read

Required Reading 📚


When People Ask What Part They Can Play to Assist in the Years of the Disenfranchised People of (So Called) Color... This Book Would Be an Amazing Start..

Great Information

The author does an excellent job explaining the financial implications of racism and prejudice imposed on all citizens of the United States, especially Black people.

Love the detail

Great explanations and hardcore details provided to show the deleterious effects of discrimination over time, really thought provoking.

Very Insightful

This was very insightful, the history shared is relative to what’s going on now. And to put that in one book to show our disadvantage in society was genius. Another great book by Shawn Rochester!

A unfitting .book an eye-opener

Great Book leader follower should study this book. every business person should read this book..