In new book, RBF Trustee Heather McGhee Examines the Costs of Racism

RBF Trustee Heather McGhee’s first book, The Sum of Us, will be released on February 16, 2021. In it, McGhee, the former president of Dēmos and board chair at Color of Change, argues that racism has costs for every American—not just people of color. The book chronicles her journey around the country to explore the social and economic gains that result when people unite across racial divides.

McGhee adapted her argument for an essay in the New York Times, writing,

“The anti-government stinginess of traditional conservatism, along with the fear of losing social status held by many white people, now broadly associated with Trumpism, have long been connected. Both have sapped American society’s strength for generations, causing a majority of white Americans to rally behind the draining of public resources and investments. Those very investments would provide white Americans—the largest group of the impoverished and uninsured—greater security, too… And while growing corporate power and money in politics have certainly played a role, it’s now clear that racial resentment is the key uncredited actor in our economic backslide.”

Find The Sum of Us at your local bookstore, or buy on Bookshop.org to support independent booksellers nationwide.