'The Sum Of Us' Community Discussion of Inequality and Racism

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The writer who changed the way millions of people think about the sometimes surprising costs of racism in this country will lead a discussion about how those losses are felt close to home.

Author Heather McGhee will talk about her New York Times best-selling book, The Sum of Us, on March 27, at 2:00 p.m. at the New Rochelle Public Library. She will engage virtually with an in-person panel of moderators in front of a live audience.

The panel is composed of well-known community leaders, including Westchester Women's Agenda's Nicole Benjamin, St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Mamaroneck's Rev. Tami Burks, Community Resource Center's Jirandy Martinez and Urban Legacy Founder Shane Osinloye.

The author-led discussion is a part of the Five Towns: One Book events that brought the Harrison, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, and Rye communities together for a series of book-club-style discussions around The Sum of Us.

Longlisted for the National Book Award, The Sum of Us explores inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: racism has a cost for everyone — not just for people of color.

McGhee shares a deeply personal journey across the country from Maine to Mississippi to California, tallying what we lose when we buy into what she refers to as the "zero-sum paradigm" — the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others.

She recounts meeting white people who confide in her about losing their homes, their dreams, and their shot at better jobs to a toxic mix of racism and greed. She brings to light the idea that public goods in this country — from parks and pools to functioning schools—have become private luxuries; of how unions collapsed, wages stagnated, and inequality increased; and of how this country, unique among the world’s advanced economies, has thwarted universal healthcare.

"We are honored to host Ms. McGhee and have her speak about the many issues surrounding inequality and the cost of racism to all of us," New Rochelle Public Library Director Tom Geoffino said. "I am so pleased that the New Rochelle Public Library, along with the other Sound Shore libraries, is bringing this important discussion to our communities."

Copies of The Sum of Us are available at each of the participating libraries in Harrison, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle and Rye. Holds may be placed via the Westchester Library System's online catalog or the ebook can be downloaded for free through Overdrive. This program is sponsored by CURE (The Coalition for Understanding Racism through Education) in partnership with the five community libraries of the Sound Shore.

The author talk and panel discussion will take place in the Ossie Davis Theater at the New Rochelle Public Library. Attendees can participate in person or virtually. The event is free but advance registration is required.