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Subscribe to Working-Class Perspectives - Working-Class Perspectives offers weekly commentaries on current issues related to working-class people and communities. Contributors discuss a variety of issues, from what class means to how it intersects with race and gender to how class is shaping American politics. We welcome relevant comments of 500 words or less.
For questions or comments about this blog, e-mail Sherry Linkon. For assistance with news stories about working-class politics and culture, call or e-mail John Russo, 330-207-8085. Categories
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The State of the Working Class
Listen to Working-Class Perspective editor Sherry Linkon's recent interview about Working-Class Studies on KERA's Think with Krys Boyd.Links
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Category Archives: Class at the Intersections
Sidney Poitier: Nobody You Can Boss Around
In the 10 days since we learned of Sidney Poitier’s death there have been hundreds of tributes to Poitier—an undeniable icon. Most of these tributes have focused on Poitier’s brilliant acting, for which he received innumerable awards, as well as … Continue reading
The Multiracial Working Class
One of the questions that you hear regularly in the Working-Class Studies Association is, “Why is the organization so White?” There are many possible answers to this question, of course. Some of it must surely be laid at our collective … Continue reading
Southern Black Women Are Key to Alabama Amazon Union Drive
Global capitalism may have met its match. Southern African-American women are challenging Amazon in Bessemer, Alabama, and it’s unclear who will be the victor. Eighty-five percent of the Amazon warehouse workers who are voting on whether to form a union … Continue reading
Racial Justice, Class Justice
I’ve been feeling kind of white lately. Maybe it’s some of that white fragility Robin DiAngelo warns us about, but more and more often when I hear somebody say “disproportionately people of color,” it sounds like they’re also saying poor … Continue reading
Rethinking Working-Class Belonging
December always invites us to look back over the past year — the media fills the relatively quiet year-end news cycle with various “best of” lists, and New Year’s seems to demand that we reflect on our own lives. This … Continue reading
Cultural and Political Diversity in the White Working-Class
Influential political analyst Ron Brownstein thinks American politics is all about answering this question: “How long can Paducah tell Seattle what to do?” The question resonates because metro areas vote so differently from small town and rural areas and because … Continue reading
The Hidden Price of an Education: Black and Working-Class in Academe
In August 2004, I entered a doctoral program at Carnegie Mellon University. My family is from Braddock, Pennsylvania, a largely black neighborhood with working-class roots, and they were ecstatic that I would be their first doctor. I did not know … Continue reading
Racism and the Working Class
When I tell other middle-class professionals who don’t know me well that I’m writing a book about working-class culture, it’s amazing how often they respond approvingly that “white racism” is an important subject. My reaction, depending on the circumstance, ranges … Continue reading
George Floyd and the Costs of Racial Capitalism
George Floyd’s public viewing will be held this afternoon at The Fountain of Praise Church in southwest Houston. A private funeral service will occur tomorrow followed by burial in Houston Memorial Gardens Cemetery about sixteen miles south of Houston’s Third … Continue reading
COVID-19 Is a Perfect Storm for Women Workers
America’s women workers have been living in a straw house perched high on a cliff, and COVID-19 is the perfect storm. Though research reveals that men are more likely to succumb to the virus, women will be disproportionately devastated by … Continue reading
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