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.

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.

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.

In this episode of ‘What Cha Readin?’ Dr. Anica gives her three takeaways from “Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America” by Ibram X. Kendi!

In this meticulously researched and fast-paced book, Kendi explores the full history of anti-Black racist ideologies and their astounding influence throughout American history. Stamped from the Beginning provides a window into the heated debates between assimilationists and segregationists as well as between racists and anti-racists through the lives of five significant American intellectuals.

As Kendi explains, racism did not develop out of ignorance or malice. In an effort to defend long-standing discriminatory laws and to explain away the country's racial disparities in everything from wealth to health, racist beliefs were developed and spread. While it is simple to create and accept racist ideas, they can also be refuted. This book provides tools to uncover racist notions and, in the process, offers reasons to be hopeful by revealing much-needed light on the obscure history of those beliefs.

Dr. Anica gives her three takeaways from the incredible book “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell!

In this fascinating book, Gladwell guides us intellectually through the world of "outliers” —the smartest and most accomplished people. He asserts that we focus too much on what successful individuals are like and not enough on where they come from, which includes their culture, family, generation, and unique experiences growing up.

Outliers is a groundbreaking book that is both amusing and enlightening.

Dr. Anica gives her three takeaways from the incredible book “Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era” by Michael Kimmel

This book covers a variety of topics, including the sons of small-town America who have been affected by underemployment and wage stagnation. White males in America are forced to place the blame elsewhere when they believe they have lived their life in the "correct" way, worked hard, and avoided difficulty, yet still do not reap the financial benefits. The occurrence of irate young guys is even more scary. The majority of school shootings in the United States are committed by guys rather than "misguided youngsters" or "troubled teens." The belief that using violence against others is their right turns these alienated young men into mass murderers.

America will become more inclusive and diversified in the future. Angry white men do not have a choice regarding their ability to stop history from moving forward—they cannot. They have a choice as to whether they will be forced against their will into that inevitable future or if they will walk openly and honorably alongside those they have spent so long attempting to keep out—far happier and healthier, incidentally.

In this episode of What Cha Readin?’ Dr. Anica shares her three takeaways from the book This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura, which tells the tale of a 17 year old girl Japanese American girl trying to reconcile her family’s traumatic past in a WWII internment camp with the events of her present day.

Dr. Anica gives her three takeaways from the incredible book "Piecing Me Together" by New York Times Bestselling author Renée Watson! Check it out below! Be sure to hit Surviving Covid19 with Dr. Anica under the Media tab to check out Dr. Anica’s interview with Ms. Watson, who shares her thoughts on art, young people, and how to thrive in the middle of a pandemic.

In this new episode of “What Cha Readin?!” Dr. Anica reviews the book Dying of Whiteness: How political resentment is killing America’s heartland by Jonathan Metzl. Check out her 3 big takeaways from this incredible book!

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.

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!

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.

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!

Join Dr. Anica as she reviews her favorite takeaways from the New York Times Best Selling Book, Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson. Full of passion, rhythm, and prose this book makes a heartfelt appeal to White Americans to confront what he deems American’s original sin, racism. This uniquely written book both challenges and inspires, speaking hard truths about the past and present impact of racism in a manner that conveys love and hope.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!