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A review by caseythereader
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Thanks to One World Books for the free copy of this book.
- We know anti-Black racism is at the heart of so much in our country, and in THE SUM OF US, McGhee demonstrates exactly that and then some, using the public pools we white people opted to drain rather than integrate as a metaphor: we'd rather cause pain to everyone than let Black people take even one step up the ladder. Everything from the decline of union organizing to the subprime mortgage crisis has an element of racial animus at the root.
- It's one thing to know white Americans treat life as a zero-sum game, and it's quite another to see it laid out like this. I think if you are a white American, you should read this book. It's a lot to chew on and I think will inform a lot of antiracism work going forward, as you'll be better prepared to look for this side of whatever issue you're working on.
- We know anti-Black racism is at the heart of so much in our country, and in THE SUM OF US, McGhee demonstrates exactly that and then some, using the public pools we white people opted to drain rather than integrate as a metaphor: we'd rather cause pain to everyone than let Black people take even one step up the ladder. Everything from the decline of union organizing to the subprime mortgage crisis has an element of racial animus at the root.
- It's one thing to know white Americans treat life as a zero-sum game, and it's quite another to see it laid out like this. I think if you are a white American, you should read this book. It's a lot to chew on and I think will inform a lot of antiracism work going forward, as you'll be better prepared to look for this side of whatever issue you're working on.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Colonisation