The Sum of Us

Outline

The Sum of Us (2021) argues that racism carries a cost not only for its direct victims but for society as a whole. Heather McGhee travels across the United States and shows how policies shaped by division, such as towns closing public swimming pools rather than opening them to everyone, end up harming all residents. She makes the case that cooperation across racial lines creates shared prosperity.

• Racism harms not only its direct victims but society as a whole, according to Heather McGhee.
• Heather McGhee travels across the United States to show how division-driven policies play out in real communities.
• Some towns closed their public swimming pools rather than open them to everyone, and all residents lost out.
• Policies shaped by division end up damaging the very people who supported them.
• Cooperation across racial lines creates shared prosperity that benefits everyone.

Heather McGhee is an American policy expert and former president of Demos, a public policy organisation focused on economic and political equality. She has advised lawmakers and appeared widely as a commentator on the economy and inequality. The Sum of Us is her first book.