summary ofThe Sum of UsBook by Heather McGhee

first KEY POINT

The interracial competition has no winners

Public opinion can be nasty. Many white Americans who voted for Donald Trump did so because of his story — that his marketers sold to the public — about how the economy works. But it didn’t matter what the facts said; a well-crafted lie was enough to get many people to vote along sentimental lines.

Many white Americans are willing to block beneficial policies if they might also help people of color. Conservative media and politicians seeking division have entrenched the zero-sum paradigm in their minds. Therefore, many white people believe they cannot win unless the Black people lose, enhancing unhealthy competition instead of collaboration, even though such a paradigm is counterproductive and false.

The rich and powerful are gaining more wealth while most families struggle to stay out of debt. A tragic example is the coronavirus pandemic. Governments and corporations made everyone vulnerable by failing to protect Black, brown, and Indigenous lives. White people must realize that people of color do not share their zero-sum prism, which states that one can win only if another fails. BIPOC communities need society to promote their abilities instead of limiting them.If the stories we have been told by the media and politicians have gotten us to this point, then surely we can create new stories that depict a better future. But to get there, we must understand the cause of the problem and identify the forces sustaining it.Thus, prepare to plunge deep into the nature and catastrophic outcomes of racism that lasted for centuries, learn from our predecessors' mistakes, and build a healthy and happy society for everyone.