Dr. Anica gives her three takeaways from the incredible book “The Sum of Us” by Heather McGhee!
From Maine to Mississippi to California, McGhee sets out on a very personal journey across the nation to calculate what we lose when we accept the zero-sum paradigm, which claims that growth for some of us must come at the expense of others. She encounters white people along the road who open up to her about losing their houses, their ambitions, and their opportunity for better careers due to the poisonous mixture of American racism and greed. This is the tale of how public goods in this country have turned into private luxuries; how unions failed; how wages stagnated; how inequality rose; and how this nation—unique among developed nations—has foiled universal healthcare.
McGhee gathers economic and sociological facts to build a picture of racism's costs. The book shares humble stories of people longing to be a part of a better America, even white people themselves. This sincere letter from a Black woman to a diverse America inspires unexpected empathy and gives us a fresh outlook on a day when we will finally understand that life is more than a zero-sum game.
However, McGhee discovers evidence of the Solidarity Dividend—gains that emerge when individuals work together across racial boundaries to achieve goals we just cannot achieve on our own—in unexpected places of worship and employment.
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