The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee

THE SUM OF US by Heather McGhee should definitely be on your “must-read” list.  McGhee, chairperson of the board of Color of Change which is the nation's largest online racial justice organization, writes about “What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.” I was caught up in her introduction which describes her many years of research and analytical work for Demos (a think tank focusing on issues of inequality), plus her gradual realization that racism is holding ALL of us back, “allowing a false sense of group competition to become a self-defeating trap.” She cites research wherein “the authors [professors at NYU and Yale with ties to Northwestern] concluded that ‘making the changing national racial demographics salient led white Americans (regardless of political affiliation) to endorse conservative policy positions more strongly’.” Stop and think about it – we see it every day in terms of issues like school funding, wage inequality, health care biases and just this week in terms of infrastructure with the zero-sum stories and misinformation associated with the Texas power grid failures. 

McGhee’s book is one to read and re-read slowly. She appeared virtually at a Family Action Network event with Senator Elizabeth Warren; check out their discussion here:

THE SUM OF US received starred reviews from both Booklist and Publishers Weekly; plus, it was featured in a New York Times Op-Ed piece: “The Book That Should Change How Progressives Talk About Race.” In her book, McGhee says, “I fell in love with the idea that information in the right hands, was power.” Do add THE SUM OF US to your reading soon – I look forward to hearing your thoughts.