Plunder of Black America

Calvin Schermerhorn is a professor of history in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at Arizona State University. His books include The Business of Slavery and the Rise of American Capitalism, 1815–1860 and Unrequited Toil: A History of United States Slavery. He lives in Tempe, AZ.

“This meticulous accounting of Black dispossession follows seven families across 400 years as they face continued efforts—from slavery to redlining—to keep them from accumulating wealth.”—New York Times Book Review“The book traces the fortunes of seven Black families across generations, excavating genealogies and tabulating, with forensic care, the labor extracted and the property lost. The result is a long historical arc of dispossession that culminates in a bracing indictment: ‘A nation founded, in large part, on ransacking African Americans’ work product . . . never gave up stealing.’”—Idrees Kahloon, New Yorker“Superbly rendered. . . . Schermerhorn meticulously details how widely the economic paths of Black and white workers who did the same jobs diverged [and] vividly captures how tenuous the grip on wealth was for those few Black families who managed to acquire some.”—Eric Herschthal, New Republic“Brilliant. . . . Several chapters are masterpieces, bringing readers into the families and allowing us to reexamine the lives that were woven into the tapestry of American history. . . . Schermerhorn’s prose is haunting.”—Joel Edward Goza, Los Angeles Review of Books“Calvin Schermerhorn’s The Plunder of Black America demands the attention of the global academy by combining a wide array of secondary literature with deep analysis of new primary sources. It is essential reading for anyone concerned with the past, present, and future of wealth, poverty, and racial injustice.”—Walter D. Greason, Macalester College“Never reducing Black lives to mere numbers, Calvin Schermerhorn has given readers an intimate look at the effects of the racial ‘wealth gap,’ as well as the determination and spirit of those individuals struggling against it.”—Carole Emberton, author of To Walk About in Freedom: The Long Emancipation of Priscilla Joyner“Schermerhorn sets out in clear and exquisite detail the huge obstacles placed in the path of African Americans who simply wanted to become self-sufficient and leave their children with brighter futures. He also provides us with hope, by describing a variety of innovative solutions.”—Dorothy A. Brown, author of The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans—And How We Can Fix It“A triumph and a startling revelation. Schermerhorn exposes that the racial wealth gap is persistent and pernicious—and it, in fact, has a history. This should be required reading.”—Justene Hill Edwards, University of Virginia, author of Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank“Writing with remarkable clarity, insight and force, Schermerhorn depicts the theft of Black wealth that has for centuries and to this day undermined the progress of Black Americans. These powerful, tragic and deeply researched stories reveal a complex and often invisible history. For anyone who seeks to genuinely understand the history of America and the truth of inequality, Calvin Schermerhorn’s brilliant The Plunder of Black America is a necessary addition to your bookshelf.—Steven Beschloss, director, Narrative Storytelling Initiative