by Jeff Sovern
New York Times reporter Emily Flitter's book The White Wall: How Big Finance Bankrupts Black America is an exploration of racism in American financial institutions, including banks, insurers, and brokerage houses. The book includes stories of how Black customers and employees are mistreated by these institutions, and places their treatment in a broader context. Flitter was undoubtedly finished with the manuscript before the Chamber of Commerce sued the CFPB for declaring discrimination unfair (an event Flitter covered for the Times) but somehow I suspect she would not have been surprised by the Chamber's lawsuit. I recommend the book to all who teach consumer law and cover discrimination (and if you don't already cover discrimination in the course, the book will make you want to). The book makes very concrete how existing laws have failed Black consumers.
