What if, in the middle of your live TV appearance, someone called in and asked for advice in overcoming their racial prejudice? For public policy expert Heather C. McGhee, the response was natural: she helped. That exchange went on to be viewed over eight million times.

As the former president of the inequality-focused think tank Demos, McGhee drafted legislation, testified before Congress and became a regular contributor on shows like Meet the Press and Real Time with Bill Maher. For more stories about the universal costs of racism, preorder her forthcoming book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together (One World / Random House).