By Dave Davies, National Public Radio, February 17, 2021
DAVE DAVIES, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Dave Davies in today for Terry Gross. Our guest today, Heather McGhee, has a new book about the importance of recognizing and fighting racism in America. But it isn't just an argument that racial discrimination is morally wrong and unfair, even deadly to people of color. The heart of McGhee's case is that racism is harmful to everyone, and thus we all have an interest in fighting it. Drawing on a wealth of economic data, she argues that when laws and practices have discriminated against African Americans, whites have also been harmed. When people unite across racial and ethnic lines, she argues, there's a solidarity dividend that helps everyone.
Heather McGhee is the former president of the progressive think tank Demos, where she spent much of her career. She holds a BA in American Studies from Yale and a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She currently chairs the board of Color of Change, a nationwide online racial justice organization. Her new book is "The Sum Of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone And How We Can Prosper Together." She joins me from her home in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Heather McGhee, welcome to FRESH AIR.
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