Beyond "Buy the Block": Taxes, Gentrification, and the Limits of Black Home Ownership

In Search of Black Power

Black folks are often told homeownership and real estate are the royal road to wealth creation and stability. Government policies like the mortgage interest tax deduction are held up a "hidden secret" white people use to game the systems. Some Black people hold homeownership as "beating 'them' at their own game" and using the "masters tools " to gain power.
However, a new book raises questions as the whether this is actually the case. We anaylize "The Whiteness of Wealth" by Dorothy A. Brown - which argues homeownership fails to fulfill its promise to stabilize Black communities and build wealth for Black families.
We'll be speaking on: gentrification, the dangers of increased property tax bills, complicating narratives of housing price appreciation as inherently good and concrete steps communities can take to address housing needs in their community without uncritically accepting "Buy the Block" mythology.

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).
The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)