The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee broke me down in ways I wasn’t prepared for. It’s one thing to know racism is destructive, but it’s another to sit with the reality that people will actively harm themselves just to ensure people of color don’t benefit. That’s not just cruel, it’s self-sabotage on a national scale, and it’s exhausting to realize how deep that rot goes.
Reading this, I felt angry. I felt drained. There are some examples that were so absurdly tragic. Like the drained and paved swimming pools, where entire communities lost something beautiful simply because integration was a bridge too far. Rather than let any black children swim, no children get to swim.
As depressing a read as this was, it held up a mirror to the ugliness of systemic racism and showed me how much it costs us all. It’s frustrating, it’s heavy, and it’s absolutely necessary. If you’ve ever wanted a clear-eyed look at how racism undercuts us all, give this one a read.
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