Summary of Heather McGhee's The Sum of Us

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America has never once lived up to the ideal of democracy that promises equality and freedom for all. Instead, it has routinely subjugated nonwhite people to a lesser quality of life. Heather McGhee explores this in The Sum of Us (2021), as well as the covert methods that America utilizes today to keep people of color down.

It is extremely difficult for white people to confront their complicity with these complex systems that instill a racial hierarchy in America, but these racist policies affect everyone negatively. People need to understand that the improvement of Black quality of life is not a zero-sum game - just because their lives improve does not mean others' lives will become worse. More job opportunities, greater economic equality, and more diverse schools will benefit America as a whole, and better reflect the social democracy that America supposedly embodies.