We are living in the days of “hot takes” on the white working class. Many of these takes take on one of two positions: first, the orthodox Marxist position that progressives must take a “class first” or even a “class only” approach in order to attract working class white voters into their coalition. I’ll dismiss that approach immediately, as you only have to look at this nation’s deeply racialized history to see the degree to which the issue of race has permeated almost every element of American society and politics. The other approach, however, taken by many ostensibly well-meaning liberal whites is to place blame at the foot of poorer white people (putting aside the very real issue of college-educated middle and upper-class white voters that voted Trump).
Issues of racial justice and economic justice are distinct issues, yet intersect tremendously and need to be examined as such. But where many self-identified liberal whites (often middle-to-upper class) miss the boat when doing a post-mortem on the election and the broader white electorate is when they place blame squarely at the foot of the poorer people who happen to share their skin color. In short, it’s not that simple, and you can’t give yourself a pat on that liberal, enlightened back of yours just yet.
The Democratic Party in recent years has built for itself a coalition of voters of color, LGBT communities of various ethnic and racial backgrounds, and highly-educated whites (more often female) living in urban and suburban areas, often of somewhat higher income. I say this well aware that I’m a white man, living in liberal-cliché brownstone Brooklyn, with an Ivy League education. In part, that's been due to a particular type of racial animus that has arisen in working class white communities, who have historically been the "tip of the spear" for white supremacy, while more affluent whites would simply retreat into all-white suburban communities (see the South Boston busing riots as an example, or racial violence in poor white areas like Grays Ferry and Kensington in Philadelphia) and enjoy their power without having to get their hands dirty. Some of these suburban white communities probably envisioned themselves as liberal as well. Meanwhile, the right-wing and powers that be have used racism to pit working-class whites against people of color since the beginning of this nation. It’s an old story – you give people someone to look down on and it will keep them from looking up. A lot of what I'm saying is based in what I believe to be, at least in part, a misunderstanding or even a rejection of the white working class by more economically advantaged white people. The white working class is something they associate with so-called "white trash" (a term that is problematic on multiple levels), and with backward behaviors that include racism, among many other negative and stereotypical traits. I’ve personally heard, on multiple occasions, pejorative statements made (virtually always by white people) about poor, often rural white folks. I’ve heard them called ignorant, hicks, toothless, trash – the list goes on. They can point to this out-group and simply define it as something they themselves are not. Meanwhile, they are the right kind of white people – liberal, open-minded, educated, and cultured. And they feel good about it. And I’m sure even I’ve fallen into this liberal elite trap at times in my life. Meanwhile, under the surface lies a truth these more elite communities don’t want to admit to themselves. I don't necessarily think the white working class is necessarily much more racist than other white people. The differences are often more stylistic than substantive – cruder, and at times more explosive, as illustrated in the South Boston example above. Regardless, the broader white community has still treated working class whites as a type of "other" historically, if only to feel better about itself and to avoid looking inward with regard to their own racial or class bias. Meanwhile, traditionally liberal areas like New York City face high rates of housing and educational segregation, which have shown no sign of abating and in some cases are getting worse.
And this is not a problem we should be asking people of color to solve, particularly at a time when a President has just been elected on an overtly racist platform and added open white supremacists to senior positions in his administration. Needless to say, asking them for empathy for the white working class is insensitive and a bit asinine at this moment in time. But it is a very real issue that needs to be addressed honestly among white people.
I look at my father, who was born in a poor, violent, racially divided New York City neighborhood in the mid-20th century. While he happens to be a pretty liberal Democrat at this point in his life, I think to myself – are we writing off these communities entirely? Are we looking down and rejecting people who could be our progressive allies?
As mentioned above, some on the left claim we should build this alliance on pure class terms. But I think that sells our goals short, and sells out many of the communities that have faced and continue to face structural racial, gender, and other discrimination. And it sells our white working-class brethren short. What I do think we can do is fight for racial justice (and refuse to compromise on that) at all levels, while also addressing economic justice (for poor and working-class communities of all colors). And by treating people with respect, rather than smug liberal disdain. And I don’t have any illusions that it is going to suddenly bring tens of millions of white voters into a progressive political mindset. For many, the racism ship has sailed. But I do think it's worth looking at that small percentage of working-class whites in areas like West Virginia who have voted for progressives, or Democrats at the very least. We can and we must support them in building inroads into communities that have felt neglected in their own way. And white elites need to look at themselves and come to terms with that, and need to realize they should make an attempt to address the distinct way they class-shame poor white people without sacrificing communities of color or other marginalized groups. We’re not perfect. And we all have our biases. But we have to do better if we want to live up to the progressive ideas we like to espouse.