Reading is Fundamental

AUHSD DEI QUARTERLY BOOK DISCUSSION: "The Sum of Us" by Heather McGhee

Tuesday, October 12, 6:00p-8:00pm,

Location: Miramonte High School Library

Miramonte High School's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Parent Committee will be hosting the first AUHSD Quarterly Book Read led by teacher Steve Poling.

This event is open to all parents who have students in the AUHSD district.

RSVP HERE as space is limited for this in-person event. (Face masks will be required regardless of vaccination status).


NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • One of today’s most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color.

“This is the book I’ve been waiting for.”—Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist

Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common root problem: racism. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out?

McGhee embarks on a deeply personal journey across the country from Maine to Mississippi to California, tallying what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm—the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. Along the way, she meets white people who confide in her about losing their homes, their dreams, and their shot at better jobs to the toxic mix of American racism and greed. This is the story of how 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.

But in unlikely places of worship and work, McGhee finds proof of what she calls the Solidarity Dividend: gains that come when people come together across race, to accomplish what we simply can’t do on our own.

The Sum of Us is a brilliant analysis of how we arrived here: divided and self-destructing, materially rich but spiritually starved and vastly unequal. McGhee marshals economic and sociological research to paint an irrefutable story of racism’s costs, but at the heart of the book are the humble stories of people yearning to be part of a better America, including white supremacy’s collateral victims: white people themselves. With startling empathy, this heartfelt message from a Black woman to a multiracial America leaves us with a new vision for a future in which we finally realize that life can be more than a zero-sum game.

Past Event: AUHSD Book Discussion Group (8/25/2020)

On Tuesday, August 25, we held our first quarterly book discussion of Dr. Ibram X Kendi's book, "How To Be An Antiracist". Over 90 AUHSD parents, faculty and community members gathered for an hour and a half discussion on various perspectives, takeaways and when and where to use critical inquiries in our own lives and in future conversations about race.


To compliment your reading, check out Brene Brown with Dr. Kendi on Unlocking Us.


We especially want to thank the 17 AUHSD faculty that volunteered to lead the small discussion groups. Even with the changes of executing on a new virtual learning platform, they put aside the time and thought necessary to take this journey.

Kristen Plant (Miramonte) Sarah Morgan (Campo)

Andie Nishimi (Miramonte) Karen Begg (Campo)

Megan Flores (Miramonte) Tom Renno (Campo)

Bruce Giron (Miramonte) Laura Lee (Campo)

Jennifer Gilson (Acalanes) Jake Donohoe (Campo)

Casey Sasner (Acalanes) Shannon Sieckert (Campo)

James Munoz (Miramonte) Steve Poling (Miramonte)

Jill McTaggart (Las Lomas) Jada Paniagua (Acalanes)

Cynthia Boyko (Miramonte)


INITIAL FEEDBACK

"That went so smoothly and was so meaningful! Thank you so so much for all the time and effort that went into the planning of this first book group discussion."


"It was a great event. The women in my breakout were really moved by the writing and really grappling with what they can do. Loved the opening. Thank you for your efforts."


"Fantastic job last night!! I was so impressed with the framing and context you offered, the small group facilitation and the overall tone you set. I know how hard it is to do this with a large, diverse group on this topic. My small group was heartfelt, open, and really community building. I left wanting to dive deeper and connect more around doing this work in this community together. I loved centering the Compass for all. Hope we can keep some thread of the cross-district collaboration for learning going."


"I am most grateful for the conversation last night, and look forward to taking part in future events."

Past Event: AUHSD Book Discussion Group (11/10/2020)

Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work/Biography.


In Across That Bridge, Congressman John Lewis draws from his experience as a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement to offer timeless wisdom, poignant recollections, and powerful principles for anyone interested in challenging injustices and inspiring real change toward a freer, more peaceful society.

The Civil Rights Movement gave rise to the protest culture we know today, and the experiences of leaders like Congressman Lewis, a close confidant to Martin Luther King, Jr., have never been more relevant. Despite more than forty arrests, physical attacks, and serious injuries, John Lewis has remained a devoted advocate of the discipline and philosophy of nonviolence. Now, in an era in which the protest culture he helped forge has resurfaced as a force for change, Lewis' insights have never been more relevant. In this heartfelt book, Lewis explores the contributions that each generation must make to achieve change.


About the Author

Congressman John Lewis was a leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. He was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and played a key role in the struggle to end segregation. He was the recipient of numerous awards from national and international institutions including the Lincoln Medal, the John F. Kennedy "Profile in Courage" Lifetime Achievement Award (the only of its kind ever awarded), and the NAACP Spingarn Medal, among many others. John Lewis served in the US House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020.

Past Event: AUHSD Book Discussion Group (2/4/2021)


What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?

Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Woven from personal narrative, he offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

HBO Adapts Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Best-Selling Book Into A Movie and Podcast. Streaming now on HBO Max.