Heather McGhee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Heather McGhee
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| Born |
Heather Charisse McGhee
June 6, 1980 Chicago, IL
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| Education | Yale University (BA) University of California, Berkeley (JD) |
| Spouse(s) | Cassim Shepard |
Heather McGhee, born on June 6, 1980, is a well-known author and a champion for good policies. Her book was a New York Times bestseller. She used to lead Demos, a group that works to improve society. Demos is a non-profit "think tank," which means it's a group of experts who research and suggest ideas for public policy. McGhee often shares her ideas on NBC News and appears on shows like Meet the Press.
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Early Life and Education
Heather Charisse McGhee grew up in South Side, Chicago. Her parents are Gail C. Christopher and Earl J. McGhee. When she was in seventh grade, McGhee went to The Bement School as a boarding student. She graduated from Milton Academy in 1997.
College and Law School
In 2001, McGhee earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from Yale University. She first thought about a career in theater and writing. However, she soon became interested in how money and rules affect everyone.
Later, McGhee went to UC Berkeley School of Law. She believed that studying law would help her gain the skills to change public policy. She earned her law degree, called a Juris Doctor (J.D.), in 2009.
Heather McGhee's Career
After finishing college in 2001, Heather McGhee taught English in Barcelona, Spain, for a short time. After the September 11 attacks, she moved to Hollywood to try writing for television.
Working at Demos
After about a year, she moved to New York City. There, she started working with Demos, a non-profit group. In 2003, McGhee connected with Elizabeth Warren and her daughter, Amelia Warren Tyagi. They talked about the problem of credit card debt.
McGhee left Demos for a while to attend law school. She also worked as a Deputy Policy Director for the John Edwards 2008 presidential campaign.
She returned to Demos in 2009. She helped lead a group that worked with Americans for Financial Reform. This group helped create the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2009. This law was made to help protect people and the economy after a financial crisis.
In 2014, McGhee became the president of Demos. In early 2018, she stepped down from that role. However, she continued to be a senior fellow at Demos, sharing her knowledge and ideas. In December 2019, McGhee became the chair of the board of directors for Color of Change. This is a group that works for racial justice.
Public Appearances and Talks
Heather McGhee is known for her public talks and appearances. In 2016, she had a phone conversation on C-SPAN with a man named Gary. He admitted he had some racial prejudice. This conversation was widely shared and viewed many times. A year later, Gary said he had thought about McGhee's advice and changed his views.
In 2019, McGhee gave a TED talk titled "Racism has a cost for everyone." In 2021, she was interviewed by Christiane Amanpour on CNN. The interview was called "Why racism hurts everyone, regardless of race."
McGhee has also appeared on the podcast Pod Save America. She was even a guest host for a live recording of the podcast in Boston. In September 2022, McGhee spoke with NPR's Ari Shapiro. They discussed the issue of student debt in the United States.
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone
In March 2021, Heather McGhee's book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, became a New York Times bestseller. It reached #3 on the non-fiction list.
Key Ideas in the Book
In her book, McGhee talks about "drained-pool politics." She uses the example of public swimming pools in the South. When laws required pools to be open to everyone, some towns chose to close them instead. This meant no one could use them.
McGhee explains that some people believe in "zero sum" ideas. This means they think if one group gains something, another group must lose something. She argues that this way of thinking, especially about race, hurts everyone.
She believes that people can gain more when they work together across racial lines. She calls these gains "Solidarity Dividends." These dividends can include things like higher wages, cleaner air, and better-funded schools for everyone.
The Sum of Us Podcast
In July 2022, McGhee launched "The Sum of Us Podcast". This podcast explores the ideas from her book in more detail.
