Know Your Price

Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities

By: Andre M. Perry

Narrated by: Leon Nixon

Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

The deliberate devaluation of Blacks and their communities has had very real, far-reaching, and negative economic and social effects. An enduring white supremacist myth claims brutal conditions in Black communities are mainly the result of Black people's collective choices and moral failings. "That's just how they are" or "there's really no excuse": we've all heard those not so subtle digs.

But there is nothing wrong with Black people that ending racism can't solve. We haven't known how much the country will gain by properly valuing homes and businesses, family structures, voters, and school districts in Black neighborhoods. And we need to know. 

Noted educator, journalist, and scholar Andre Perry takes listeners on a tour of six Black-majority cities whose assets and strengths are undervalued. Perry begins in his hometown of Wilkinsburg, a small city east of Pittsburgh that, unlike its much larger neighbor, is struggling and failing to attract new jobs and industry. Bringing his own personal story of growing up in Black-majority Wilkinsburg, Perry also spotlights five others where he has deep connections: Detroit, Birmingham, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Washington, DC. He provides an intimate look at the assets that should be of greater value to residents - and that can be if they demand it.  

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. 

©2020 The Brookings Institution (P)2021 Tantor

More about Black lives than property

The book provides a wealth of data about issues generally facing black Americans like black maternal health and electing black women to public office, but it's a missed opportunity to discuss in detail issues that fewer people are raising - discrimination in property tax assessment, real estate market failures, and local development policy.

Great Book!

I really enjoyed this. It was well read and clear. The content is great. I will probably listen to this again in the very near future.

Liberation of present

Loved the structure and cadence of the storyline and narration. This book has awaken a thought process for me and the work I must do in my community. I am up for putting in the work to build generational wealth for my family and community.