The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap

by Mehrsa Baradaran

These informal neighborhood transactions often entailed repossession, wage garnishments, court judgments, and even shakedowns by lenders, all of which were unimaginable in the suburbs. The loss of a job could lead to default on a furniture loan, but a missed payment could also lead to loss of a job, because it was common for an employer to fire an employee whose wages were garnished in order to avoid the hassle.55 There were many more court judgments in the ghetto than in the suburbs, which meant that law enforcement and the court system were a part of the credit system for blacks.56 Repo men, courts, lawyers, police, bankruptcy—all from buying a refrigerator and a television set. These lenders were the very face of exploitation, humiliation, shame, and injustice. So it is not surprising that they were the first targets of the violence.