Opinion Today: Your house doesn’t know your racial identity, right?

Your neighbors and potential neighbors do.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story March 22, 2021 By Jenée Desmond-Harris Senior Staff Editor, Opinion You know those conversations you have before you get married, when you try to get on the same page about your values and your hopes in terms of kids and money and work and household labor? I remember my husband saying he wasn't sure about homeownership, because he didn't think it was a smart way for Black people to build wealth. I was sort of skeptical; I mean, money is money, and your house doesn't know your racial identity, right? Of course it doesn't. But your neighbors and potential neighbors do. And as Dorothy Brown explained in an Op-Ed this weekend, their attitudes can inform whether you make or lose money when you sell. In the essay, which is adapted from her forthcoming book, "The Whiteness of Wealth: How The Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans — And How We Can Fix It," she writes: Black Americans are often unable to build wealth from homeownership in the same way their white peers are, in large part because home prices are generally set by the people who make up the majority of buyers: white Americans. White families typically prefer to live in predominantly white neighborhoods with very few or no Black neighbors. Homes in these neighborhoods tend to have the highest market values because most prospective purchasers — who happen to be white — find them most desirable. That's depressing. And it gets worse. Brown writes that "research has shown that once more than 10 percent of your neighbors are Black, the value of your home declines." This is the truth behind our household joke that the real estate agent showing the house next door to ours must have a bad workday when their clients see us in our driveway. Brown's piece goes on to explain how the tax code pairs with this harsh, racist reality to perpetuate the racial wealth gap. She makes the case that changes to our tax system can make things fairer, and she's cautiously optimistic that we might see those changes under the Biden administration. Most of what you'll read in her piece is not uplifting, but it's important to understand. And yes, I've told my husband he was right. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Yannick Lowery Your Home's Value Is Based on Racism Wherever they choose to buy, Black people are penalized by white preferences. By Dorothy A. Brown Here's what we're focusing on today: Editors' Picks Georgia Promised Koreans the American Dream. They Got Something More Complicated. The shootings in Atlanta show how class warps the immigrant narrative. By Jennifer Hope Choi There Are Two Asian-Americas, and One Is Invisible Who will recognize the humanity of the women who help us heal? By Claudine Ko The Deep American Roots of the Atlanta Shootings The victims lived at the nexus of race, gender and class. By May Jeong On the News The AstraZeneca Vaccine Is Safe. How Can We Get People to Trust It? Vaccine confidence has many layers. By Heidi J. Larson The conversation The Many Faces of Post-Trump Stress Disorder It seemed like everything was calming down, until it wasn't. By Gail Collins and Bret Stephens Why Do British Uber Drivers Deserve Better Benefits? Gig work doesn't have to be a race to the bottom. By The Editorial Board Exploiting Black Fears of False Persecution Politicians facing accusations seek to take advantage of Black support. By Charles M. Blow Old Pol, New Tricks Biden's got the buzz. Who's smirking now? By Maureen Dowd Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Ideas How to Collect $1.4 Trillion in Unpaid Taxes Wealthy Americans are concealing large amounts of income from the I.R.S. There is a straightforward corrective. By The Editorial Board Progressive Christians Arise! Hallelujah! With a churchgoing Democrat in the White House, faith becomes more complicated in America. Thank God. By Nicholas Kristof Does Biden Really Want to End the Forever Wars? If he does, he must work with Congress and go well beyond narrowing old permission slips for conflict. By Jack Goldsmith and Samuel Moyn Opinion Audio What the Heck are NFTs? Let's Ask Beeple. The artist just sold an encrypted digital collage for $69 million. So are nonfungible tokens the next new asset class, or is it all hype? By Kara Swisher What You're Saying letter 'Government Is the Solution, Not the Problem' A social policy professor, praising the stimulus bill, disagrees with the famous statement by Ronald Reagan that "government is the problem," not the solution. letters Nursing Homes: The Good and the Bad Medical professionals, a social worker and an industry group respond to a front-page article about the five-star rating system. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com Contact Us If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Opinion Today newsletter from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018