Compared to running an organization, folks warned me, a writer’s life would be a lonely one. To the contrary, this book has been a collaboration from start to finish. I have so many people to thank.
First, the doulas and midwives who supported me most in bringing my book to life—chief among them Lynn Kanter, who provided invaluable research and writing support from proposal to final copyedit—as well as my agents Henry Reisch, Tina Bennett, and Dorian Karchmar; my fact-checker, Kelsey Kudak; and my primary research assistants, Aaron Carico and Erin Purdie, and transcribers Megan Weaver and Joanna Parson. Another team has done an amazing job of helping me get the word out: Racquel Royer and Michael Frisby, the Lavin Agency, and the tireless team of publicists, marketers, and assistants at Penguin Random House. I hoped that art could help tell the book’s story and was lucky to find a talented set of designers and illustrators in Rachel Ake, David McConochie, and Frances Tulk-Hart. Finally, I have been blessed to have the smartest editor and most supportive publisher I could have hoped for, Christopher Jackson and One World. Thank you for believing in this book from day one.
I am deeply grateful to every person who shared their America with me. That includes the interviewees named in this book and the dozens more whose insights and experiences shaped my journey—including Garry, my most unlikely friend. Thanks to the organizers who generously made connections for me, including Alex Amend, Asya Pikovsky, Michael Enriquez, the late Hector Figueroa, Mary Kay Henry, Desmond Meade, Anastasia Semien Douglas and the Florida Rights Restoration, Rafael Navar, Mike Calhoun and the Center for Responsible Lending, May Boeve, Dennis Williams, Mark and Sandra Haasis, Barb Fisher and the United Auto Workers, Maine People’s Alliance, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Integrated Schools, Faith in Action, People’s Action, Stosh Cotler, Linda Sarsour, and Rev. Julian DeShazier.
I leaned on the expertise of many who dug into key ideas with me and reviewed parts of the book: Ian Haney López (who has influenced my thinking in so many ways), Donovan X. Ramsey, Tammy Draut, Robert Master, Cathy Cohen, Angela Park, Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson, Lindsey Allen, Sean McElwee, Mark Huelsman, Anat Shenker-Osorio, Jonathan Voss, Zeinab Hussen, Sarah Merchant, Ellora Derenoncourt, Nathan Nunn, Corey Hajim, and Cassim’s urbanist reading group. I will be forever grateful to Gina Welch for reading every single world of the first full draft with the precision of a great writer and the enthusiasm of a great friend.
Thank you to all of my former Demos colleagues, especially the Executive Team members who helped me grow the organization and supported my need to write this book; the trustees, including Amelia Tyagi, Josh Fryday, Miles Rapoport, Stephen Heintz, and my successor K. Sabeel Rahman; and Alissa Vladimir and Gwyn Ellsworth. My faith comes from having friends in the movement who are showing that a multiracial democracy is possible, especially Rashad Robinson, Alicia Garza, Tammy Draut, Lucy Mayo, Ai-jen Poo, George Goehl, Anna Galland, Maurice Mitchell, Waleed Shahid, Will Pittz, Robert Gass, Danny Cantor, and Auntie Elizabeth.
The book is the result of a multiyear writing process that found generous and generative support from Demos, the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, the Open Society Foundations, the Park Foundation, the Panta Rhea Foundation, and Oona Coy. I spent days writing in some memorable spaces, including Crossfields, the Mesa Refuge, the Hayes-Shaw Studio, Selina Medellín, Work Heights Clinton Hill, the Ntianu Center Library, and the corner seat of the bar at Peaches Shrimp and Crab.
I would be nowhere without my family: Mom, Dad and Mary, Hassan, Shannon and Ronny, Sadia and Andreas, Taiye and Annie, Jackie and the McGhees, and the Minors, Thayers, Boivins, Shepards, and Quraeshis. Riaz Shah Hassan Shepard-McGhee, this book is dedicated to your Nana, but it is for you, and all the children you’ll link arms with as you remake the world. Finally, thank you to my best friend, best editor, and best partner in anything worth doing, Cassim. Your love makes all things possible.