Book Review: The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee
The attitude in this book is exactly what the conversation needs: An illumination of where the stakes are, thus providing indispensable context to the issue of race. Heather McGhee details in quantitative objectivity how racism against African Americans, and every other oppressed sector of the economy and society, damages white people more than is widely acknowledged. The case presented is uncannily intuitive and refreshingly empathetic—and it strips bare the deep-rooted effort made to cause whites to fear and loathe commonality with the rest of humanity (and thus oppress them).
This book is an excellent resource in understanding those deep-rooted efforts, and describes ways to counter their influence. The author illuminates the tangible ways racism against others is hurting everyone including white people—although whites are harmed by racist decisions to a lesser degree, the cost is still disturbingly high as presumed benefits from differential privilege have their downside. For anyone interested in helping white people to understand how they are manipulated about race by well crafted deceptions, McGhee provides both the conceptual background and the practical steps to be taken to correct these wrongs that harm everyone.
The bottom line is we’re all in this together—whites (along with everyone else) have a natural and practical interest in ending race based distinctions and oppression everywhere. In this book McGhee provides both the rationale and road map to accomplish this goal.
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