Our Black Year: One Family's Quest to Buy Black in America's Racially Divided Economy

One Family. One Year. One Radical Mission to Rescue the Black Economy.

Maggie and John Anderson were living the American Dream in an affluent Chicago suburb. But behind the manicured lawns, they felt a profound sense of unease. They knew their good fortune was an anomaly—while they thrived, millions of African Americans remained trapped in economically starved neighborhoods where Black wealth sat at just one-tenth of white wealth.

On January 1, 2009, the Andersons decided to stop complaining and start acting. They made a historic, year-long public pledge: They would buy exclusively from Black-owned businesses for 365 days.

Why This Book is a Must-Read:

• The Reality Check: Discover what happens when a family goes completely off the grid to support community commerce—and the unexpected pushback they faced from both inside and outside their community.

• Data-Driven Insight: Blending gripping personal memoir with rigorous economic research, Maggie Anderson exposes the structural barriers built against Black businesses.

• A Blueprint for Change: This isn't just a story; it’s an urgent call to action and a definitive guide on how all of us can play a part in closing the economic divide.

"The Andersons’ economic odyssey is nothing short of heroic." — Alfred Edmond, Black Enterprise