Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee

1. What is the zero-sum paradigm? Who currently benefits from the belief that progress for people of color must come at the expense of white people? Where in society do you observe this story being communicated, and by whom? Do you believe that it is possible to build a fairer economy? What are the most promising signs that another way is possible?
2. What are some of the ways that the U.S. economy has been dependent upon systems of exploitation and harm? How did white people, including people in northern states where slavery was abolished, profit from exploitation? How did this history advance the idea that liberation and justice for people of color would require taking something away from white people?
3. How did New Deal public goods like mortgage assistance and Social Security benefits help white people? How did these same benefits exclude Black people? How did these forms of discrimination, sanctioned by the federal government, contribute to the racial wealth gap that exists today? McGhee writes that "wealth is where history shows up in your wallet." How have you seen wealth shape opportunity in your community or your life? What policy interventions are needed to close the racial wealth gap? For resources on understanding the racial wealth gap, go to tinyurl.com/WealthGapResearch.
4. Why were so many of America's public swimming pools drained and closed? How did this impact entire communities? What replaced these benefits of public life? What benefits of public life still exist today, and to what extent are they integrated spaces?
5. How did political storytelling about welfare and poverty in the 1980s lead to a decline in support for the government? How did this impact the government's ability to challenge corporate power and concentrated wealth? What widespread stories diminish trust in government today, and what role does race play in those stories?
6. Why has the average public college tuition nearly tripled over the past three decades? How has this impacted student debt? Do you think a college degree should be affordable to everyone, as it used to be? Why or why not? How do you think student debt should be managed?
7. How has racial prejudice impacted healthcare policies and access to health insurance across the country? How has a shift in healthcare policies and access to insurance had a disproportionate impact on people in rural regions? How have poor white Americans been impacted by this shift?
8. How did redlining promote white homeownership while disadvantaging people of color? How did this impact who received mortgages and who was blocked from purchasing homes? What lessons were you taught about homeownership, at home or in your community? How were those lessons impacted by your identity?
9. Who were the first victims of predatory mortgage lending? Why were subprime loans marketed to existing homeowners who could have qualified for less expensive loans? Before you read the "Ignoring the Canary" chapter, what was your perception of the causes and consequences of the crisis, and what role did race play? Where do you think you learned that story?
10. How have labor unions transformed entire industries? How have unions organized across race and class, and how do anti-union forces benefit from racist beliefs? What tactics have unions utilized to demand things like better pay, benefits, and safety measures?
11. Why does McGhee assert that we have never had a real democracy in America? How has political power been kept in the hands of a narrow white elite, and how have attempts to thwart Black voters created dysfunction across the system?
12. How are white children impacted by living in segregated communities and attending segregated schools? How do students benefit from attending diverse schools? What have your educational experiences up until now been like? Were the schools you attended racially diverse or racially segregated?
13. Why do you think that white people are less likely to rank environmental problems as a pressing concern? How is racial resentment correlated with climate change denialism? How do you think climate change denialism should be addressed?
14. What is the moral conflict that white Americans face today? Why does McGhee assert that we may have reached the moral limit of the zero-sum belief in the U.S.? What was your own experience witnessing the "tidal wave of recognition about the reality of systemic anti-Blackness" in 2020?
15. What is a Solidarity Dividend? What commitments can you make to live your life in solidarity across color, origin, and class? How can you encourage others to make similar commitments?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Delacorte Press. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.