The Sum of Us

McGhee tries a novel approach: Hey, white people, your racism is costing you dearly. Your health, your wealth, your lives. She exhaustively dives into the racist roots of the decline of public services and unions; the mortgage crisis; school segregation; health care; pollution and climate change. She infuses the text with reminders of how the ultrarich fund politicians who sow discord and disunity. She conclusively shows how each of these policies imposes far more costs on whites than on Blacks; how whites are being tricked into acting against their own self-interest. Cutting their noses off to spite their faces. It would seem a no-brainer for whites to stop this, ¿que no? (Spoiler alert: it is. But “no brain” is exactly what we're dealing with.)

Will white America come to its senses? Will we unite, burn Fox “News” to the ground, oust the Nazis, and start rebuilding while we still can? McGhee is an optimist. She shows a number of isolated examples of communities coming together.