In this episode of What Cha Readin?’ Dr. Anica shares her three takeaways from the incredible book “The Whiteness of Wealth”.

This book is a remarkable examination of racism in the American tax system by a tax policy expert and law professor, Dorothy A. Brown. Brown uses decades of interdisciplinary study to demonstrate that tax law isn't as colorblind as she had previously thought. She introduces us to families from all types of backgrounds in Atlanta, her beloved city, whose experiences show how the American tax system favors white people while further pushing black people behind. Black Americans experience financial disadvantages relative to their White counterparts in many spheres of life, including college, marriage, and house ownership. As a result, there is a growing wealth disparity and more black families are being denied access to the American ideal.

America's tax code needs to be completely rewritten in order to solve the issue. But it will also call for different decisions from both white and black Americans. This important, constructive book shows how to move forward.

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Dr. Anica gives her three takeaways from the incredible book “The Sum of Us” by Heather McGhee!

From Maine to Mississippi to California, McGhee sets out on a very personal journey across the nation to calculate what we lose when we accept the zero-sum paradigm, which claims that growth for some of us must come at the expense of others. She encounters white people along the road who open up to her about losing their houses, their ambitions, and their opportunity for better careers due to the poisonous mixture of American racism and greed. This is the tale of how public goods in this country have turned into private luxuries; how unions failed; how wages stagnated; how inequality rose; and how this nation—unique among developed nations—has foiled universal healthcare.

McGhee gathers economic and sociological facts to build a picture of racism's costs. The book shares humble stories of people longing to be a part of a better America, even white people themselves. This sincere letter from a Black woman to a diverse America inspires unexpected empathy and gives us a fresh outlook on a day when we will finally understand that life is more than a zero-sum game.

However, McGhee discovers evidence of the Solidarity Dividend—gains that emerge when individuals work together across racial boundaries to achieve goals we just cannot achieve on our own—in unexpected places of worship and employment.

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Dr. Anica gives her three takeaways from the incredible book “The Color of Law” by Richard Rothstein!

Many of the poor communities we know today are the result of deeply flawed urban planning in the 1950s. By demonstrating how government actions contributed to the construction of officially segregated public housing and the razing of formerly mixed areas, Rothstein deepens our understanding of this history in this book. While urban areas quickly worsened, federal grants for builders on the condition that no homes be sold to African Americans spurred the enormous American suburbanization of the post-World War II years. Rothstein reveals how law enforcement officials brutally upheld these standards by encouraging black families to resist in white areas.

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Check out Dr. Anica’s review of this moving and heartwrenching book, The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please seek help. Contact the National Suicide Holtine at 1.800.273.8255.

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Check out Dr. Anica’s review of the book I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown. This is a must read book, here’s why!

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Here’s my latest review on the phenomenal book The Best of Enemies by Osha Gray Davidson. As always, I’ve got three takeaway points for you.

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Check out Dr. Anica’s review of the compelling tale of former White Nationalist R. Derek Black and his journey to becoming anti-racist. The book is “Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a former White Nationalist” by Eli Saslow. Here are 3 reasons why you should read it!

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Join Dr. Anica as she reviews her favorite takeaways from the break out hit, and New York Times Best Selling Book, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. This captivating and inspiring book tells the story of a young Black girl who finds her voice in the call for justice, after witnessing the murder of her unarmed Black male friend at the hands of police. You might have seen the movie, but you HAVE to read the book!

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Join Dr. Anica as she reviews her favorite takeaways from the debut book by Minrose Gwin, The Queen of Palmyra. This fictional tale takes us to Jim Crow South in Mississippi 1963, where we see race and racism through the eyes of an 11 year old White girl who spends her days in the company of her grandparents Black maid. This book shocks, and inspires all at the same time.

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Join Dr. Anica as she reviews her favorite takeaways from the best selling book Waking Up White: Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving. This book gives you a front row seat to an upper middle class White woman coming into awareness of her White racial identity, and all that goes with it. Debby not only examines her own racial history, she invites and encourages the reader to do the same.

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Join Dr. Anica as she reviews her favorite takeaways from the New York Times Best Selling book Just Mercy: A Journey of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. This book challenges everything you thought you knew about law, order, justice, and what makes someone a criminal.

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Jodi Picoult’s book Small Great Things offers a compelling tale of loss, redemption, and race in America. This must read tale is smart, well-written, and moving. You won't be able to put it down. Watch Dr. Anica from Race (+) Positive give her two cents in a review of this New York Times best selling book!

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