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Author McGhee, Heather, 1980- author.

Title The sum of us : what racism costs everyone and how we can prosper together / Heather McGhee.

Publication Info. New York : One World, [2021]

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Avon Free Public Library - Adult Department  305.8 MCGHEE    DUE 04-20-24
 Berlin-Peck Memorial Library - Non Fiction  305.8 MCGHEE    Check Shelf
 Bloomfield at the Atrium  305.8 MCG    Check Shelf
 Bloomfield, Prosser Library - Adult Department  305.8 MCG    Storage
 Bristol, Main Library - Non Fiction  305.8009 MCGHEE    Check Shelf
 Canton Public Library - Adult Department  305.8 MCGHEE    Check Shelf
 Cheshire Public Library - Adult Department Lower Level  305.8 MCGHEE    Check Shelf
 Colchester, Cragin Memorial Library - Adult Department  305.8 MCGHEE, HEATHER C.    Check Shelf
 Cromwell-Belden Public Library - Adult Department  305.8 MCG    Check Shelf
 East Hartford, Raymond Library - Adult Department  305.8 MCGHEE    Check Shelf

Edition First edition.
Description xxiii, 415 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [295]-397) and index.
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"-- Provided by publisher.
Contents An old story : the zero-sum hierarchy -- Racism drained the pool -- Going without -- Ignoring the canary -- No one fights alone -- Never a real democracy -- Living apart -- The same sky -- The hidden wound -- The solitary dividend.
Subject Racism -- United States.
United States -- Race relations -- Economic aspects.
Race relations -- Economic aspects. (OCoLC)fst01086512
Racism. (OCoLC)fst01086616
United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
Other Form: Online version: McGhee, Heather C. Sum of us First edition. New York : One World, [2021] 9780525509578 (DLC) 2020044568
ISBN 9780525509561 (hardcover)
0525509569 (hardcover)
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