NY Times banking reporter Flitter to write book on racism in finance

New York Times banking reporter Emily Flitter has signed a contract to write a book on racism in the financial system.

The book, which does not yet have a title or a release date, will be published by One Signal, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

“The generally accepted wisdom in the financial industry is that the racial wealth gap is a vestige of earlier, more troubled times,” said Flitter in a message. “Jim Crow-era practices, like redlining, left Black Americans at a disadvantage, and banks are doing everything the can to erase it. In fact, the reality is different. Active, virulent racism permeates the financial system today and it keeps Black Americans from building wealth, pursuing careers and doing basic banking business with the same effectiveness as white Americans. There needs to be major change, and this book will explore what banks and other companies can do to really address this problem.”

Flitter has been at the Times since late 2017. She previousl worked at Reuters, where she covered everythingfrom the Treasury market and the Trump campaign to climate change policy and big agribusiness.

She previously did stints at Barron’s Online, Wsj.com and American Banker, and covered white-collar crime for three years.