New Books Network Calvin Schermerhorn, "The Plunder of Black America: How the Racial Wealth Gap Was Made" (Yale UP, 2025)
Sep 21, 2025
Dr. J. Calvin Schermerhorn, a history professor at Arizona State University, explores the deeply rooted racial wealth gap through the stories of seven Black families. He reveals how wealth—or the lack thereof—significantly impacts well-being and happiness. Schermerhorn discusses the evolution from overt slavery-era theft to modern systemic exclusions, highlighting instances like Tulsa and Phoenix. He also suggests potential remedies, including baby bonds and reparations, while hinting at future research into post-emancipation histories.
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Wealth As The Core Measure
- Wealth is the leading indicator of Black-White inequality rather than politics or DEI measures alone.
- Schermerhorn argues systemic dispossession reinvented across eras explains persistent racial wealth gaps.
Plunder Reinvents Across Eras
- Each economic transformation in U.S. history produced new methods to dispossess Black Americans rather than ending plunder.
- Schermerhorn traces continuity from slavery through modern credit and housing practices as reinventions of plunder.
Early Freedom Stories In Colonial America
- Mary and Anthony Johnson arrived enslaved from Angola and became planters and enslavers themselves in early Virginia.
- Venture Smith purchased his freedom after being enslaved on Fisher's Island and built a new life in Connecticut.
