SVPLA Book Club Recap: The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
On Tuesday, April 6, 2021, our Book Club discussed The Sum Of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee.
Heather McGhee's specialty is the American economy--and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common root problem: racism. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out?"
If you'd like a sneak peek of the book, listen to Heather's interview with Ezra Klein or watch the Color Of Change Panel with Heather and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.
Book Club Notes
from our Host, Melissa Jones:
Since our meeting on Tuesday, I haven't been able to stop thinking about the question that Heather McGhee poses at the end of The Sum of Us: Who is an American and what are we to one another? In our discussion, we considered everything from "American" as a construct to "American" as misdirection. It was a heartfelt and personal conversation, spurred on by McGhee's excellent work, and I was moved by the vulnerability and honesty shared by all.
The poet Jericho Brown, in his glorious collection The Tradition, posits the answer to this question as a Riddle.
We do not recognize the body
Of Emmett Till. We do not know
The boy's name nor the sound
Of his mother wailing. We have
Never heard a mother wailing.
We do not know the history
Of this nation in ourselves. We
Do not know the history of our-
Selves on this planet because
We do not have to know what
We believe we own. We believe
We own your bodies but have no
Use for your tears. We destroy
The body that refuses use. We use
Maps we did not draw. We see
A sea so cross it. We see a moon
So land there. We love land so
Long as we can take it. Shhhh. We
Can't take the sound. What is
A mother wailing? We do not
Recognize music until we can
Sell it. We sell what cannot be
Bought. We buy silence. Let us
Help you. How much does it cost
To hold your breath underwater?
Wait. Wait. What are we? What?
What on Earth are we? What?
I invite you to continue to ponder this question as you move through the world. What is an American and what might we want America to be?
All of this segues nicely into our next selection, where we will be re-imagining with one of the best, Mariame Kaba. Activist, organizer and educator, Mariame is the leading abolition advocate in our country today. We Do This 'Til We Free Us is her new book, described as:
"What if social transformation and liberation isn't about waiting for someone else to come along and save us? What if ordinary people have the power to collectively free ourselves? In this timely collection of essays and interviews, Mariame Kaba reflects on the deep work of abolition and transformative political struggle.
With a foreword by Naomi Murakawa and chapters on seeking justice beyond the punishment system, transforming how we deal with harm and accountability, and finding hope in collective struggle for abolition, Kaba's work is deeply rooted in the relentless belief that we can fundamentally change the world. As Kaba writes, "Nothing that we do that is worthwhile is done alone."
We will be meeting on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm Pacific (sign up here to get book club invites and notifications). After discussing this book, we will have another follow-up conversation about the work some of our accelerator and nonprofit partners are doing in this area.
P.S. If this poem by Jericho Brown struck you, I highly recommend listening to his divine voice in this podcast with OnBeing.