Middle Grade Ninja Episode 202: Author Heather McGhee

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Heather McGhee and I discuss adapting her monumental novel THE SUM OF US: HOW RACISM HURTS EVERYONE for younger readers (available February 21st). We talk about how everything we believe comes from a story we’re told, how she’s been able to find open-minded readers in a world of book banners, how she hopes young people will join with other people in their community who are different from them and take action to bring about meaningful change, how she once felt a ghost, and so much more.

Heather McGhee designs and advances policy solutions to inequality. The former president of the think tank Demos, McGhee drafted legislation, testified before Congress, and became a regular contributor on news shows including NBC’s Meet the Press. Now the chair of Color of Change, the nation's largest online racial justice organization, McGhee holds a BA in American Studies from Yale University and a JD from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, her twenty year-old cat and their chatty toddler.

The New York Times bestseller, now adapted for a new generation of young readers, leaders, thinkers, and activists. A groundbreaking call to action that examines how racism affects and harms all of us and how we need to face it head-on, together.

The future can be prosperous for everyone, but only if we address the problems of racial and economic inequality.

McGhee believes that all people, of all ages and all backgrounds, need to rethink their attitude toward race and strive together to create opportunities that benefit everyone. 

This book is a call to action. McGhee examines how damaging racism is, not only to people of color but also to white people. She offers hope and real solutions so we can all prosper. An expert in economic policy, McGhee draws lessons both from her work at a think tank and from her travels around the country talking to everyday Americans fighting for a more just and inclusive society.

The people she meets prove how the stories we tell ourselves about race and belonging influence the policies that determine our shared economic future.

The Sum of Us provides hope that with understanding and open-mindedness, the world can be more united and equitable than it is today.

HeatherMcGhee.com