Hope obscures the legacy of racism at the Peace & Justice Awards event

To make her case for the economic and social costs of racism, New York Times bestselling author Heather McGhee draws on the historical narrative of the 1950s and 1960s, which saw a boom in the construction of lavish public community pools to accommodate meet the demands of society. the emerging middle class.

So a white middle class: blacks were not allowed to be members of the pools.

With the advent of the Civil Rights Movement, black Americans began to demand in court that they too be allowed to become members, because they paid taxes.

What happened is what McGhee calls the “zero-sum” economic and political devastation of American society: Across the country, municipalities that wanted to keep blacks out of their public swimming pools decided to close the pools to avoid the appearance of discrimination. From one city to another, authorities drained their ponds, and cement trucks backed up to fill them with concrete and gravel.

“This is our history, folks, but when I tell this story… it’s really about what it costs all of us when a city destroys its public good, instead of sharing it or making it a private membership,” said McGhee. “Everyone loses something.”

McGhee, author of the New York Times bestselling book “The Sum of Us,” headlined the fourth annual Peace & Justice in PA awards Wednesday, sponsored by PA Media Group, parent company of PennLive and The Patriot-News, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC).

The event showcases and recognizes individuals and groups working in their communities to combat racism and discrimination. The event was sponsored by the Foundation for Enhancing Communities.

McGhee, a scholar and researcher of racism and injustice, drew a seamless thread between the legacy of the lost pools of the 1960s and the zero-sum economic and political mentality that fuels much of the country’s division and inequality .

“A zero-sum game is a game in which there is no mutual progress,” McGhee said. “If one player scores a point, the other player loses a point… more broadly as a worldview… that there is a fixed pie of well-being. If I get a bigger piece, you have to take a smaller piece.

McGhee said this underlying paradigm that fuels political rhetoric is false and a lie.

“Of all the things we hear today, zero-sum is one of the loudest. It is one of the best-selling and most persistent,” she said. ‘It says they’re coming for you. There is an us and a them. You can all think of many examples in the last 24 hours. I’m sure.”

The shift – from investment in the common good to the individual family (with resources) – has led to disparities in health care, home ownership, education and the ability to send children to college.

The country’s unwillingness to come together and find a common solution — essentially swimming in the same pool — comes at a high cost to everyone, McGhee said.

“Economists view society as just another sporting game,” she said. “You want all your players on the field to score points for your team. You don’t want someone to be sidelined because of debts, discrimination or disadvantage. The problem with a zero-sum game is that we are not all on the same team. … That inequality costs us growth. If you don’t have all your players on the field, guess what, your team isn’t going to score as many points.”

Citing the work of economists, McGhee said the economic gap between black and white has cost the U.S. economy $16 trillion over the past two decades.

“There’s no point in saying you have to hold some people back so other people can flourish,” McGhee said.

The event held at Central Penn College in East Pennsboro Township honored one individual and two groups:

• Rev. Sandy Strauss for her passionate work advocating for human rights abroad and civil rights at home. Strauss is Director of Advocacy & Ecumenical Outreach for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches. She has spent decades in legislatures and in besieged communities defending the rights of the poor and those affected by racism, sexism and extremism.

“I like to think of myself more as a cheerleader and an educator,” says Strauss, who says she was inspired to do social justice work as a young man in Memphis in the late 1960s, a time shaped by the work of Rev. Martin. Luther King Jr. “My role is to help others do this work.”

• Wildheart Ministries, an Allison Hill-based organization dedicated to lifting one of Harrisburg’s most beleaguered communities. Since 2016, Wildheart Ministries and its founders, Tannon and Cristina Herman, have led revitalization efforts that have helped reduce crime, rehabilitate properties and address food deserts.

“Real change starts by speaking out more than talking,” Cristina said. “It’s about doing the hard work… Come on, you can make a difference.”

Also honored was the Pennsylvania Prison Society, an advocacy group dedicated to ensuring that incarcerated people are treated with humanity.

Chad Dion Lassiter, the executive director of the PHRC, a clearinghouse for hate crimes, discrimination, racial bias and ethnic harassment, outlined the findings of the organization’s annual report and a report titled “Enough,” which examines racism on college campuses across world was explored. Pennsylvania.

“We are not talking about microaggressions, but about racism on campuses targeting students of color,” he said.

Despite the challenges in light of persistent racism, Lassiter said he remains hopeful for the future of the Commonwealth.

“There is peace and justice,” he said. “Like Dr. Martin Luther King said: We must accept finite disappointments, but never lose infinite hope.”

The event was moderated by PennLive Opinion Editor Joyce Davis, president and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg.