Zero-Sum Politics: Heather McGhee on How Racism Hurts Us All

Heather McGhee has been in public policy for the past 20 years, largely focused on economics. After nearly 16 years at Demos, a "think-and-do" tank, including four years as president, she realized that despite incredibly compelling economic research, at times, decision makers made decisions counter to what the best evidence showed. She took a leave of absence as president, and embarked on a journey to try to answer a simple question - Why can't we have nice things? We, being all Americans, and nice things being things that most developed nations have managed to provide for their people - health care, parental leave, a social safety net, and, of course, a good school in every neighborhood.  
Her journey took her across the country for conversations with all sorts of people, and led to the new book, The Sum of Us, which has been on the New York Times Bestseller's list since was released. We are incredibly grateful to Heather McGhee for agreeing to come on the show in the midst of a serious promotional schedule. We are also honored that Integrated Schools makes an appearance in the book. 
LINKS:

The Sum Of Us

Our Bookshop.org Storefront



Demos - Public Policy "Think-and-Do" Tank

Ta-Nehesi Coats - The Case for Reparations


Dr. Gail Christopher

HealOurCommunities.org


Adrian Piper - Conceptual Artist

Sherrilyn Ifill

NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Black Doll Test

Debra Holoien

Chase Bellingham and Matthew Hunt

Kellogg Foundation

The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander


The Color of Law - Richard Rothstein


Bryan Stevenson of Equal Justice Initiative

Don't forget to register for our next webinar: How We Show Up, April 19th 5pm PDT / 8pm EDT. This free, 90 minute webinar will feature parents from Integrated Schools. We'll be sharing personal stories of how we, as parents and caregivers with racial or economic privilege, work to center anti-racist integration when we arrive in integrating schools.
The Sum of Us is our next Book Club selection. Dates are in July, and you can register here. 
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Let us know what you think of this episode, suggest future topics, or share your story with us - @integratedschls on twitter, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us hello@integratedschools.org.
The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.
This episode was produced, edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.
Music by Kevin Casey