Author Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman visits St. Kate’s campus
By Ella Tracy
The St. Kate’s community welcomed author and activist Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman to campus last week for a stop on her book tour promoting The Double Tax: How Women of Color are Overtaxed and Underpaid. The O’Shaughnessy hosted a conversation between Opoku-Agyeman and Hope Walz on Oct. 1. St. Kate’s and the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota a trio of events on Oct. 2, dedicated to strengthening mentorship connections between students and Opoku-Agyeman.
The Double Tax describes forms of gender and race discrimination that Black women experience throughout their lifetimes. Opoku-Agyeman outlines how womanhood comes with a high price tag. Paying higher prices for beauty products, missing potential wealth due to a lack of representation in the highest paying jobs, sacrificing wages after having children and much more mean women are “taxed” simply for being women. The book gets its name from the extra tax women of color face from racial discrimination.
Opoku-Agyeman and Walz shared a lively discussion that jumped between Opoku-Agyeman’s personal experiences with the double tax and references to CBS’s Love Island USA. “It was engaging moving between popular culture and academic research,” said Lisa Hager, professor of literature, language and writing at St. Kate’s. Opoku-Agyeman has a knack for keeping her robust work accessible, which kept the audience of students, faculty, staff and community members hanging on to her every word.
Students brought curious questions en masse to informal events on Oct. 2, beginning with a research talk. Opoku-Agyeman shared summaries of her PhD dissertation works, which include quantitative analyses of hiring discrimination, colorism in academia and corporate conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion practices. In addition to projects they are currently on, Opoku-Agyeman encouraged students to “fill in the gaps” of research that she discovered when writing The Double Tax. She advised students to keep doing research, emphasizing that “if new challenges arise, you adapt. The work has to continue.”
After Words, the first installment of a talkback series hosted by the Endowed Mission Chair for Women’s Education, gave space for students to discuss with Opoku-Agyeman how they have seen the double tax manifest in their lives. Students shared extensive experiences with the double tax in beauty, particularly hair care. For many, the double tax in beauty goes beyond the money spent on higher-quality products needed to care for textured hair. It also means decreased hireability when wearing hair naturally, higher presentability standards and a lowered sense of self-esteem. Opoku-Agyeman encouraged students to make changes by starting small, like asking local retailers why they do or don’t carry certain products.
Finally, students sought career advice over tacos and signed books. Opoku-Agyeman shared how her professional journey has been filled with unexpected turns and affirmed that nonlinearity is part of what makes career exploration so exciting. She emphasized surrounding oneself with networks that work - ones that have your best interest at heart and can connect you to the people or places you are curious about. She encouraged students to build stronger relationships with professors, pay close attention to what jobs intuitively feel right and to spend time in workplaces and educational institutions where they actually want to be.
Opoku-Agyeman also spoke about her educational journey from a feminist and decolonialism perspective. She recalled a turning point in her PhD program where she remembered that “this PhD is mine! I can do whatever I want with it. You don’t have to put your career on hold just because you’re getting an education.” That mindset, along with deeply investing in community with other women of color at Harvard, has helped sustain her through the rigorous 6 year program.
Students left the events with high praise for Opoku-Agyeman. Zoe McKillip, ‘26 (Economics, Philosophy), said that “talking to her felt like talking to a friend. She was very good at connecting with people our age.”
Hawti Boranto, ‘27 (Economics, Political Science, Math minor), shared that the talk series was very empowering and encouraging. “I don’t know if it’s what’s going on politically, but I’ve been doubting my ability to be in this [academic] space. But being around her and reconnecting with alumni reminded me that my experience is not a vacuum. I’m not alone.” Boranto is also a previous attendee of The Sadie Collective conferences, a nonprofit co-founded by Opoku-Agyeman to encourage more women of color in economics.
Opoku-Agyeman will continue her tour with The Double Tax throughout the month. Even though the St. Kate’s community has bid her farewell for now, her legacy will linger for years to come. If Opoku-Agyeman ever needs more members in her fan club, she’ll always find them at St. Kate’s.
