Let's Talk About Housing: "The Black Tax"
November 7, 2024
Join HOME of VA executive director Thomas Okuda Fitzpatrick for the first conversation in a new series exploring the past and future prospects for fair housing.
Andrew Kahrl, historian at the University of Virginia, discusses his new book, The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America, exploring a long-hidden history of overtaxation of Black property that has extracted wealth from Americans already long marginalized. He traces the roots of a discriminatory regime of local tax agencies reaching back to Reconstruction and up to the present.
Josh Scott, Director of Policy and Organizing at Virginia Community Voice, leads efforts to write a new kind of history. Spearheading citywide adoption of the RVA Thrives Equitable Development Scorecard, he works to amplify the Southside community’s vision for growth and push developers to think holistically and inclusively about their projects.
Virginia Community Voice partnered with HOME of VA on our most recent report about racial bias in appraisals and displacement of Black residents from Richmond. Our conversation will explore connections between The Black Tax and this work as well.
Copies of The Black Tax will be available for sale at the event courtesy of Fountain Bookstore, an independent bookseller in Richmond.
Presented in partnership with the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia and Virginia Community Voice.
