Episode 2133: Ebony Reed on the Shameful Black-White Wealth Gap in America

For all the “progress” in civil rights front over the last couple of generations, the wealth gap between white and black Americans hasn’t changed much. As Ebony Reed, co-author of best selling new book, Fifteen Cents on the Dollar, whites on average have 85% more wealth than blacks, a shockingly inegalitarian fact about a supposedly color blind democracy. Reed’s book is subtitled How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap and, as she hints, until American citizens address these dramatic economic inequalities between whites and blacks, the country will remained mired in its shameful history of injustice and discrimination.

Ebony Reed is a seasoned journalist, editorial leader, and news strategist. She has extensive knowledge and experience in local, regional, and national journalism, business operations, communications, and diversity-related projects. Ebony joined The Marshall Project in January 2022 as its first-ever Chief Strategy Officer, leading strategy across the organization, managing communications, marketing, and its local markets growth strategy. Ebony has reported on public school systems, police agencies, and city governments. She led the metro desk at The Detroit News during the 2008 housing crisis. Her journalism work and business development projects have been featured and part of key strategies at global news outlets, including the Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal. At the Wall Street Journal, Ebony was the New Audiences and Community Chief, overseeing four teams of journalists, engineers, designers, and audience experts. She has also taught at universities and colleges across the United States including Yale’s School of Management, Wayne State University in Detroit, Arizona State University, Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Cleveland State University, Kent State University, Southern New Hampshire University, Emerson College in Boston and the University of Missouri-Columbia where she taught online for a decade before joining in a faculty role in 2017. Ebony received her undergraduate and master’s degrees from The University of Missouri-Columbia. She is based in Kansas City, Mo.

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe