“Our Black Year” by Maggie Anderson – a synopsis

The book “Our Black Year” examines one dimension of a crisis facing economically depressed communities across the nation.

As capital dries up and skilled people flee from these areas, what is left behind are a host of pathologies that are on public display.

This has happened in places that are predominantly black, such as Benton Harbor, but also rural communities in Appalachia and the Midwest that are overwhelmingly white.

The book recounts the decision by Maggie Anderson and her husband, John, to purchase goods and services from black-owned companies for an entire year. “Our Black Year” also details the challenges they faced in doing so, even in a city with a large black population such as Chicago.

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