Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities

If you are a white/Caucasian Person living in the United States you should be reading s book by a black author on history, racism, white privilege.You should be engaged in regular discussions with your peers and mentors and neighbors with the intent of gaining a deeper understanding of the realities of systemic racism.Andre Perry is well positioned to assist in this project. His book reflects back to us his own struggles, his personal story, and a level of scholarship that unravels for us the pervasive policies which are as racist and insidious as they are hidden in plain sight. When you devalue a place you devalue the people who live there; and we in the US have been devaluing homes and communities, hiding behind "urban renewal" and a host of other projects headlined as "improvements" - projects that by design (and intent) rob people of their worth.Perry tells the story honestly, but with evidence that provides unwavering optimism and hope for a people - HIS people - and their tenacity in building and sustaining a community and culture that is distinctly their own even as it enriches all.

This book is the truth! Since January, I have read or listened to 16 books. This was a 4 day read for me and that never happens. Andre Perry’s “Know Your Price” was one that I just had to get a tangible copy. Perry’s blend of research and personal narrative is like the relationship between rhythm and bass in jazz: they complement each other and sometimes they battle each other. There is the community dichotomy of “what is” (current) vs “what could be” (future), that is of course, influenced by “what was” (the past). I see myself in many of Perry’s personal stories. This book has me looking at my community and it’s decision makers differently. It also has me thinking, “what if I would have been exposed to this as a teenager or college student?”. The answer could be that I would have selected a different degree or would have been more involved in politics, community development or Urban Planning. “Know Your Price” is a must read!! I was blessed to have lived in the same city with Perry for several years as well! Now stop reading this and go get your copy!

As always, Dr. Andre Perry provides a nuanced, thoughtful, and in depth look at race and culture in America. Iterating throughout the book that "There is nothing wrong with black people that ending racism won't solve," Know Your Price is about the systemic and foundational challenges that have held black Americans back, and suggests tangible paths forward on a number of fronts.As a former (white) charter school teacher, his chapter "The Apologies We Owe Teachers and Students" really resonated with me and re-ignited so many of the flames that kept me in education but working where I felt I could impact more change - especially as an outside to communities of color and where I can hopefully do something to inspire our leaders to invest where it matters. I witnessed (and was guilty of) so many of the issues he lays out in the chapter.If you're looking for a research-backed examination of black majority cities in American and how we as society and culture can do better, look no further.

This researcher documented every major instance of denial of access to community value and property ownership on both micro and macro levels. Home ownership and community development innovation has to consider the treacherous past of the nation in order to attain economic opportunity and equality.

Perry is one of only a few scholars that I have read who eloquently blends narrative writing with academic research. The result is a much more powerful and informative resource. We do not simply need to know the historic and contemporary details of social policies, but rather we must come to understand how people live these policies. Perry begins his exploration of valuing Black lives with his own family and community experience. From page 1, the reader is captured and committed to going on this journey-tracing issues of inequality, racism, economic disenfranchisement, education, and systemic injustice. A must read for anyone who seeks to not just live in our society, but to change it for the better.

Dr. Andre Perry takes readers on a thought-provoking journey that challenges harmful narratives propagated in the Black community. Amidst the current climate of social unrest in America, this timely work recommends practical solutions that can be implemented by governmental agencies, community organizations, and everyday people determined to improve society.

Great book. Must read for all African Americans. Dr. Perry is great at connecting the dots for a great America.

Haven't started the book, but I had to return it -- about 20 pages had a quarter of the pages orn off, like someone had grabbed a handfull of pages and torn the handfull off. And another 20 pages or so had extra paper the paper-cutter just haddn't cut off or somethign like that. The extra paper on those pages was all folded back into the book.I am looking forward to reading the book, but I had to return this one, and ordered another. I'm looking forward to getting an undamaged book to finish.