The Sum of Us - The Most Inspiring Book I’ve Read In Some Time
Last night I finished the book “The Sum of Us” by Heather McGhee. A couple months ago McGhee made the rounds on some of my favorite podcasts, Ezra Klein and The Political Gabfest. The book captured my interest primarily cause it felt like adding a new angle to an old problem. The book also did an incredible job speaking plainly and persuasively and helping me see some new angles on an old problem.
Old (and accurate) Angles:
Ending White Supremacy is Morally Sound - I believe this premise is accepted by the grand majority of people in the United States. Being willing to take steps to end it or sacrifice to end it is quite a different story.
The Responsibility of Ending White Supremacy Falls Squarely on the Shoulders of White People - I think there are less people who agree with this statement. I agree with it and find it hard to offer an alternative. If your claim is that it is dead white people who created white supremacy and they should’ve taken care of it. . .well they’re dead Elizabeth. So if a group is responsible to end an evil, it ought to be the beneficiaries of that evil.
New (at least to me) Angles:
White Supremacy hurts everyone - Though I have believed this in an internal way for a long time, I have never read an academic book that lays out clear data to establish it. At the policy level white voters will tighten their own belt and starve their communities of services to make sure they don’t have to share those services with black people. This is frankly worse than zero sum. This is a willingness to suffer to maintain white supremacy. The actions outlined in this book show the willingness of white leaders to limit their offerings to maintain a racial hierarchy.
The absence of white supremacy helps everyone - Black people struggling because of laws that are enforced differently on black bodies, loans that are not offered to black people, job opportunities that are never extended - none of this helps me whatsoever. None of this makes my life better as a white man for one minute. It makes my life worse, here’s why. 1) Everything I do achieve in life, no matter how hard I worked for it, is asterisked with this idea that I did it all on an unfair playing field. I can certainly still be proud of my achievements, but I can feel that asterisk in every step I take. (worked with my therapist a lot on this one). 2) People winning is just good. People getting a raise, people getting a job, people buying a house, people releasing a song. I love to see people win, that absolutely 1000% includes black people. What horrible kind of person are you if you don’t want to see EVERYONE win? What is wrong with you? Who taught you that?
When you read this book you’re going to love it. The last 50 or so pages were just clear point after clear point delivered with optimism and honesty about what we are losing everyday by supporting white supremacy. Thank you Heather McGhee for this awesome book.