Black Capitalists: A Blueprint for What Is Possible

“Black people can be the beneficiaries of a system they were violently forced to create and sustain,” according to this perceptive debut treatise. Laryea, a wealth management researcher at JPMorganChase, explores Black individuals’ complex relationships with capitalism through profiles of those who “prioritize social good and monetary profit.” She describes how one Goldman Sachs employee views himself as a “spy” within the bank, using the contacts he makes there to direct wealthy patrons to a Black dance company in Brooklyn. Contending that Black capitalists use the tools of capitalism to beat “the master at his own game,” she details how after a Black couple received a suspiciously low appraisal for their Bay Area residence, they asked a white friend to pose as the homeowner for a second appraiser, who valued the home at almost $500,000 more than the first. Laryea also recounts how she took advantage of the financial resources that Yale University offers student entrepreneurs to start her Ghanaian food business while studying to get her PhD in anthropology. Laryea imbues her probing character portraits with a measured outlook on capitalism, suggesting that while it’s a “dirty game,” people have no choice but to play it and so might as well try to get ahead while striving to change the rules. This provides food for thought. Agent: Hafizah Geter, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (June)