Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. Today we've got a book for you that covers a huge,

sprawling topic in a specific zoomed-in sort of way. It's called The White Bonus by author Tracy McMillan,

who, as you'll hear in this interview, had a pretty rough life. She's not what anyone would call

privileged in any way. And yet, she did some digging into pretty rough life. She's not what anyone would call privileged in any way.

And yet, she did some digging into her own life, did the math, tallyed up the numbers, and

realized how much. In actual dollar figures, she benefited from being white. These facts are not

something people like being told. In conversation with NPR's Michelle Martin.

She talked about the personal consequences she faced for writing this book.

That's ahead.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new new show, Sources and Methods. NPR

reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant

events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get

your podcasts. If the subject of racism happens to come up, what comes to mind? Presumably, it's the

idea that in America at least, it's something that keeps non-white people down. But what if

it's also something that lifts white people up and keeps them up? And what if you could put

some numbers on it? Writer Tracy McMillan decided to do the numbers for herself.

She estimates that she has had advantages that total $371,934 and 30 cents so far.

Macmillan calls this the white bonus, and that's also the title of her new book,

where she looks at how

her family and those of other white Americans benefit from policies and practices that

disadvantaged non-whites, but particularly African Americans. And she is with us now to tell us more

...