The sum of us : what racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together

Resource Information

The work The sum of us : what racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Waubonsee Community College. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

The sum of us : what racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together

Title remainder

what racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together

Statement of responsibility

Heather McGhee

Title variation

What racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together

Creator

• McGhee, Heather C

Author

• McGhee, Heather C

Subject

• Racism -- United States
• United States -- Race relations | Economic aspects

Language

eng

Summary

"Heather C. McGhee's specialty is the American economy-- and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. As she dug into subject after subject, from the financial crisis to declining wages to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common problem at the bottom of them all: racism-- but not just in the obvious ways that hurt people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It's the common denominator in our most vexing public problems, even beyond our economy. It is at the core of the dysfunction of our democracy and even the spiritual and moral crises that grip us. Racism is a toxin in the American body and it weakens us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out? To find the way, McGhee embarks on a deeply personal journey across the country from Mississippi to Maine, tallying up what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm-- the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. Along the way, she collects the stories of white people who confide in her about losing their homes, their dreams and their shot at a better job to the toxic mix of American racism and greed. This is the story of how public goods in this country-- from parks and pools to functioning schools-- have become private luxuries; of how unions collapsed, wages stagnated, and inequality increased; and of how this country, unique among the world's advanced economies, has thwarted universal healthcare. It's why we fail to prevent environmental and public health crises that require collective action. But in unlikely places of worship and work, McGhee also finds proof of what she calls the Solidarity Dividend: gains that come when people come together across race, to the benefit of all involved"--

Assigning source

Provided by publisher

Cataloging source

LBSOR/DLC

Dewey number

305.800973

Illustrations

• illustrations
• maps

Index

index present

LC call number

E185.8

LC item number

.M38 2021

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography

Target audience

adult