The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together

Despite its position as one of the world’s most advanced economies, America has, time and time again, created policies that routinely fail its people — from the 2008 financial crisis, to crippling student debt, to the continued lack of universal health care. But there exists a common thread that links all of these problems, says public policy expert Heather McGhee: racism. Structural racism is the driver of inequality — not just for people of color, but for everyone.

In her new book “The Sum of Us,” McGhee takes readers on a journey across the country, where she explores, with compassion, intelligence and great care, what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm — the idea that progress for some must come at the expense of others.

“Now more than ever, racial division is a tool wielded by those who are the most wealthy, the most powerful and the most self-interested,” explains McGhee. What would actually improve our lives, and everything we share in common — from our infrastructure to our education system to democracy itself — would be to come together across racial divides.

This talk, based on McGhee’s extraordinarily powerful book, pulls back the curtain on how racism divides and devastates us, but it also offers a path forward — into the achievable changes we need to make to create a just and equitable future for all.

Over her career in public policy, including nearly two decades with the non-partisan “think and do” tank Demos, Heather McGhee has become an influential voice in the media, crafted legislation, testified before Congress and helped shape presidential campaign platforms. She currently serves as a visiting lecturer in urban studies at the City University of New York and has also held visiting positions at Yale and the University of Chicago. Additionally, McGhee is the chair of the board of Color Of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, and serves on several other boards. She holds a bachelor’s from Yale and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law as well as honorary degrees from three other institutions.