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The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together (One World Essentials) Kindle Edition

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 5,019 ratings

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • One of today’s most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color.

WINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, The Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Ms. magazine, BookRiot, Library Journal

“This is the book I’ve been waiting for.”—Ibram X. Kendi, #1
New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist

Look for the author’s podcast, The Sum of Us, based on this book!

Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis of 2008 to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a root problem: racism in our politics and policymaking. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out?

McGhee embarks on a deeply personal journey across the country from Maine to Mississippi to California, tallying what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm—the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. Along the way, she meets white people who confide in her about losing their homes, their dreams, and their shot at better jobs to the toxic mix of American racism and greed. This is the story of how public goods in this country—from parks and pools to functioning schools—have become private luxuries; of how unions collapsed, wages stagnated, and inequality increased; and of how this country, unique among the world’s advanced economies, has thwarted universal healthcare.

But in unlikely places of worship and work, McGhee finds proof of what she calls the Solidarity Dividend: the benefits we gain when people come together across race to accomplish what we simply can’t do on our own.
The Sum of Us is not only a brilliant analysis of how we arrived here but also a heartfelt message, delivered with startling empathy, from a black woman to a multiracial America. It leaves us with a new vision for a future in which we finally realize that life can be more than a zero-sum game.

LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL
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From the Publisher

Ibram X. Kendi says “The Sum of Us can help us come together to build a nation for us all.”

Elizabeth Gilbert says A book about the deep, and real-life cost of racist policy-making in the US.

Wes Moore says The beauty & power of this book is blinding Our country will be better because of it

George Saunders says, “A vital, urgent, stirring, beautifully written book.”

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A book for every American.”—Elizabeth Gilbert

“Illuminating and hopeful . . . McGhee isn’t a stinging polemicist; she cajoles instead of ridicules. She appeals to concrete self-interest in order to show how our fortunes are tied up with the fortunes of others. ‘We suffer because our society was raised deficient in social solidarity,’ she writes, explaining that this idea is ‘true to my optimistic nature.’ She is compassionate but also clear-eyed, refusing to downplay the horrors of racism. . . . There is a striking clarity to this book; there is also a depth of kindness in it that all but the most churlish readers will find moving.”
—Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times
 
“One of the most fascinating things about
The Sum of Us is how it challenges the assumptions of both white antiracism activists and progressives who just want to talk about class.”The New York Times, “The Book That Should Change How Progressives Talk About Race”

“Required reading to move the country forward . . . Every so often a book comes along that seems perfectly timed to the moment and has the potential to radically shift our cultural conversation. [
The Sum of Us] is one of those books. . . . It is a sometimes angry or frustrated book, rooted in McGhee’s long career at Demos trying and mostly failing to secure legislation that would benefit the public. But in the end, it’s a hopeful book because McGhee’s vision is so clear and so convincing.”Chicago Tribune
 
“If everyone in America read this book, we’d be, not only a more just country, but a more powerful, successful, and loving one. A vital, urgent, stirring, beautifully written book that offers a compassionate roadmap out of our present troubled moment.”
—George Saunders,New York Timesbestselling and Booker Prize–winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo

“Supported by remarkable data-driven research and thoughtful interviews with those directly affected by these issues, McGhee paints a powerful picture of the societal shortfalls all around us. There is a greater, more just America available to us, and McGhee brings its potential to light.”
BookPage
 
“[McGhee] takes readers on an intimate odyssey across our country’s racial divide to explore why some believe that progress for some comes at the expense of others. Along the way, McGhee speaks with white people who confide in her about losing jobs, homes, and hope, and considers white supremacy’s collateral victims. Ultimately, McGhee—a Black woman viewing multiracial America with startling empathy—finds proof of what she terms the Solidarity Dividend: the momentous benefits that derive when people come together across race. A powerful, singular, and prescriptive blend of the macro and the intimate.”
O: The Oprah Magazine

About the Author

Heather McGhee is an expert in economic and social policy. The former president of the inequality-focused think tank Demos, McGhee has drafted legislation, testified before Congress, and contributed regularly to news shows including NBC’s Meet the Press. She now chairs the board of Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. McGhee holds a BA in American studies from Yale University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0871KZQ3G
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ One World (February 16, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 16, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 12.9 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 355 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 5,019 ratings

About the author

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Heather McGhee
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Heather McGhee designs and advances policy solutions to inequality. The former president of the think tank Demos, McGhee drafted legislation, testified before Congress, and became a regular contributor on news shows including NBC’s Meet the Press. Now the chair of Color of Change, the nation's largest online racial justice organization, McGhee holds a BA in American Studies from Yale University and a JD from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, her twenty year-old cat and their chatty toddler.

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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Customers say

Customers find the book comprehensive and well-researched, providing useful information and anecdotes. They describe it as a brilliant, well-written read that is worth their precious reading time and money. The book provides a history lesson on racism over the years from beginning to now. It helps further our conversation on race in America and offers workable countermeasures to systemic racism. Readers find the content insightful and expand their understanding in many ways.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

131 customers mention "Thought provoking"131 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides useful information and insightful descriptions. They appreciate the thorough research and detailed documentation. The book is educational and thought-provoking, providing a clear examination of America's original sin of racial injustice. Readers also mention that the book is not just an opinion work, with reference material and a critical perspective.

"...But somehow, she suffuses it all with love. "The Sum of Us" is not an easy read for us white Americans, not at all. It can be excruciating...." Read more

"...🖊️ top notch writing, research, and accessible presentation- an expert blend of meticulous data analysis, personal experiences, and investigative..." Read more

"...This book is also a great read. Besides facts, the recounting of events, references to social science research, and data, Heather tells us stories..." Read more

"good for perspective" Read more

111 customers mention "Pacing"101 positive10 negative

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They say it's a must-read for high schoolers, college students, and anyone interested in understanding what binds us together as one country. The writing is smooth and natural, with a great flow that connects everything together.

"...our country affirmed-- and by a Black American woman, no less-- as young, radical, unprecedented and still brimming with potential." Read more

"...Overall, an easy to read an novel account of how this country’s history has been perpetually shaped by racial divisions strategically sown by those..." Read more

"...🖊️ top notch writing, research, and accessible presentation- an expert blend of meticulous data analysis, personal experiences, and investigative..." Read more

"...McGhee has written an important and very accessible book that highlights the need to consider the racial component in any discussion about policy..." Read more

110 customers mention "Readability"105 positive5 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They say it's well-written and worth their time. The content is thought-provoking and insightful, making it a valuable read for all Americans. Readers appreciate the author's hard work and positive outlook.

"This is a truly great, breakthrough book. I can’t recommend it highly enough...." Read more

"Heather McGhee has written an amazing book that is a must read. I learned so much from this book that I do not know where to begin...." Read more

"...In this excellent book, McGhee discusses the outsize impact racism has had on society as a whole – and it’s a perspective everyone should read...." Read more

"...I found this the best part of the book...." Read more

78 customers mention "History"70 positive8 negative

Customers find the book provides a useful history lesson on racism from beginning to now. They say it helps further the conversation on race in America and offers workable countermeasures to systemic racism. The book challenges the myth of racial hierarchy and white supremacy, providing an authentic look at how racism impacts everyone. Readers appreciate the way the author consolidates and elevates so much history and recent research into a comprehensive overview.

"...industrial and economic systems unsparingly, with history- and data-driven facts, and it’s never been made clearer to me just how pervasive racism..." Read more

"...💸 compelling truths about the high costs of racism, white supremacy, systemic oppression, and denial in *all* communities – be they white, nonwhite..." Read more

"...This book is also a great read. Besides facts, the recounting of events, references to social science research, and data, Heather tells us stories..." Read more

"...She combines history, economics, personal narratives, and tons of economic and sociological research to make her case that racism is very literally..." Read more

38 customers mention "Insight"38 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful and engaging. They say it opens their minds and expands their understanding. The book covers a variety of topics and elucidates a perspective. Overall, readers describe it as an interesting read that educates, argues, and inspires them to think and act.

"...country affirmed-- and by a Black American woman, no less-- as young, radical, unprecedented and still brimming with potential." Read more

"...🔍 eye-opening clarification about our shared realities and the invisible boundaries we all live within..." Read more

"...With a number of compelling quotable passages and eye-opening insights, "The Sum of Us" stands as a substantive, quality read." Read more

"...Mind blowing content and fascinating read." Read more

a complete dismantling of the idea that the majority suffers due to the gains of the minority
5 out of 5 stars
a complete dismantling of the idea that the majority suffers due to the gains of the minority
“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅’𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒚, 𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚.”There are a few truths that we must face if we want to build a nation that is truly great: we are living on a stolen land built by stolen labor, the freedom and privilege that we enjoy is a product of the exploitation of a racial hierarchy, and we are equipped to dismantle that hierarchy so that all of us, rather than just some of us, can be greater than the sum of us.

Read this for:🌎 a complete dismantling of the idea that the majority suffers due to the gains of the minority💸 compelling truths about the high costs of racism, white supremacy, systemic oppression, and denial in *all* communities – be they white, nonwhite, liberal, conservative🔍 eye-opening clarification about our shared realities and the invisible boundaries we all live within🖊️ top notch writing, research, and accessible presentation- an expert blend of meticulous data analysis, personal experiences, and investigative research.🧭 guidance for realistic, hopeful, multi-racial solutions that can bend the moral arc of our nation back toward justice, and begin to transform AmericaAt this point, anyone who is aware of our nation’s history (and recent history) has been confronted with the hard realities that many of our problems, from housing to healthcare, education, voting rights, clean air, etc – can be traced to racial injustice.Unlock our shared history, and take a closer look at the insidious ways that racial hierarchy has baited the white majority into believing in a false zero-sum model… and then use this book as a guidebook, as a roadmap into what solidarity actual looks like.This is simply excellent.“𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉.”
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2021
    This is a truly great, breakthrough book. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Author Heather McGhee takes on American racism in a whole new way (for me), crisscrossing the country and relentlessly bringing the reader face to face with the universal damage and waste caused by racial discrimination and injustice. But somehow, she suffuses it all with love.
    "The Sum of Us" is not an easy read for us white Americans, not at all. It can be excruciating. McGhee goes into every corner of our social, political, industrial and economic systems unsparingly, with history- and data-driven facts, and it’s never been made clearer to me just how pervasive racism is, how it was deliberately mapped out and built in—what that word “systemic” really means.
    But I never, ever felt stigmatized or belittled. I never got that “Now YOU are the despised ‘other’” message I sometimes get from antiracist polemicists.
    McGhee is profoundly merciful and even startlingly empathetic to us white folks, telling us how the upper echelon has bamboozled us into our untenable position, how much racism hurts us as well, its blowback hitting us too (as in toxic environments we mistakenly think we're safe from 'cause we're across "the tracks"), sometimes in even greater numbers than it does people of color, since there are more of us.
    Her most vivid, urgent message is how much we can help ourselves by letting go of the lie of the “Zero-Sum Economic Model” that keeps us in constant fear and resentment by telling us that if those "others" gain anything, we will lose something— when in truth, an economic boom for Black Americans would expand both our public and private economies exponentially, and bring more prosperity to us all.
    It’s the concept of the “solidarity dividend”—that whites could improve our lot (for we are struggling too, all over) by finding common cause with Black Americans, how it has already been proven that this happens when we make the effort and overcome our irrational fear.
    Black America is a treasure we’ve buried at the behest of not just the hateful, vengeful former Confederacy and its Northern industrial and banking partners, but of the political ruling class, who want us to trust them more than each other. Remember that “trickle-down” mantra, about how we white folks on the floor would catch the best crumbs from the plutocrats’ table? It’s a baldly false promise.
    Politicians helped raise up a prosperous white middle class with racially exclusionary government programs like the New Deal and the G.I. Bill, proving that government could do great things-- for us. Then, once so many of us were thriving, they convinced us that such government programs were downright evil-- and the beneficiaries lazy freeloaders-- when they benefited nonwhites. So now, there are no such bold, broad programs for anybody, of any race, but whites are brainwashed to console ourselves with the illusion that at least we’re not at the very bottom of the boat.
    McGhee’s inspired, perfect recurring analogy is government-subsidized public pools, built for us in a midcentury surge, but that we shut down rather than comply with court orders to admit Black swimmers. The result? No one had a pool except rich people. And many of the remnants of that spite are still there in the shells of these public pools, still empty or half-buried like fossils, visions of a resource we decided we’d rather waste than share.
    McGhee really reads our beads here. I promise you will twist and cringe if you’re white (though I hope Black readers scarf this book up too, so they’re armed with both its merciful vision and its irrefutable arguments). But you’ll see a path to redemption—our own.
    Throughout this book, and leavening the pain, McGhee’s love for this country shines through, She ultimately endorses the idea of a true American Exceptionalism, reminding us that our work is so difficult-- so scarred with false starts, failures, conflicts and backlash-- because we’re still a new country, relatively, and because no one has ever tried anything like this before.
    “Who is an American, and what are we to one another?” she writes. “We have to admit that this question is harder for us than in most other countries, because we are the world’s most radical experiment in democracy: a nation of ancestral strangers that has to work to find connection even as we grow more diverse every day.” After the rough ride we've taken in "The Sum of Us," it’s indescribably wonderful to hear our country affirmed-- and by a Black American woman, no less-- as young, radical, unprecedented and still brimming with potential.
    41 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2024
    “Wealth is where history shows up in your wallet, where your financial freedom is determined by compounding interest on decisions made long before you were born.” p. 276

    I find i am highlighting passages on every page! The metaphor on p. 31 of “the room where it happens” is powerful: three white men, power brokers in government, business and labor, agreeing to a New Deal social contract that invested in our social infrastructure for three decades... until women and people of color started clambering at the door for a seat at the table, and instead of making room, they ripped up the contract and left the room, leaving workers to fend for themselves and bringing on a new era of widening inequality.

    Also powerful is a metaphor she runs through the book about communities across the nation building and filling swimming pools as public (social and physical) infrastructure and then literally draining and dismantling them once they became open to non whites. Uses that as a metaphor too to how we used to invest in public college and might have gone the way of universal healthcare but drained the pool in the face of civil rights inclusion and racism against demographic changes. Ruin it for everyone rather than share in benefits for all.

    Overall, an easy to read an novel account of how this country’s history has been perpetually shaped by racial divisions strategically sown by those in power, weaving together familiar and new facts and studies about state sponsored segregation and private action into a compelling argument that the great lengths that white communities have gone to to keep schools, jobs and other amenities separate is truly costing all of us in terms of learning, performance, progress and prosperity (on top of racism/segregation’s other costs in terms of loss of life, loss of social and cultural richness, and moral repugnance).
    7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • max druker
    5.0 out of 5 stars an exceptional meaningful contribution
    Reviewed in Canada on January 29, 2022
    A must read for anyone trying to understand the cost of racism and how it affects us all. Well reasoned and well written
  • KD Hoffmann
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hervorragendes Buch
    Reviewed in Germany on July 31, 2024
    Tolles Buch mit einer Fülle origineller Gedanken und Einsichten! Wow! Die Autorin hat eine beachtliche Leistung erbracht. Chapeau!
  • Mark McCullagh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply informed, sober and illuminating
    Reviewed in Canada on December 28, 2021
    Very empirical and historically informed. Loved all the interviews with ground-level people making awesome changes in their communities! Deep insights
  • Daniel Glass
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book
    Reviewed in Canada on March 11, 2021
    Tells the true history. A must read for anyone that cares about this world going forward. An amazing book that you must read.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
    Reviewed in Canada on April 17, 2021
    This book should be read by every American. Then maybe...

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