'The Whiteness Of Wealth' Probes Why Black Americans Pay Higher Taxes

Chances are, if you’re a white taxpayer in the U.S., you’re getting a better deal than Black Americans.

That's according to a new book called “The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans – and How We Can Fix It" by Emory University tax law professor Dorothy Brown. She writes that the U.S. tax system has long favored white Americans, effectively reinforcing and creating a staggering racial wealth gap.

Born and raised in the South Bronx, Brown says she's dealt with racism her whole life. She decided to practice tax law in order to pursue a career where she thought race and racism had nothing to do with her work.

"As I say in the book, I’ve never been more wrong about anything in my life," she says.

A mentor of hers wrote an article asking readers to look at the connection between the country's tax system and race. She decided to interrogate the issue — and immediately ran into roadblocks. The IRS does not publish statistics by race, she says, complicating her efforts.

The more she began to investigate race and tax policies, the more she connected the dots