The Other America
White Working Class Perspectives on Race, Identity and Change
By Harris Beider and Kusminder Chahal
Published
Jul 3, 2020Page count
142 pagesISBN
978-1447337065Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Jul 3, 2020Page count
142 pagesISBN
978-1447337058Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Jul 3, 2020Page count
142 pagesISBN
978-1447337089Imprint
Policy PressPublished
Jul 3, 2020Page count
142 pagesISBN
978-1447337089Imprint
Policy Press
The Other America
In the US? Order your copy from amazon.com
In the media
On our blog: PODCAST: What white working class Americans really think
'Trump’s appeal is built around giving a public voice for private trouble' in LSE US Centre blog
Widely stereotyped as anti-immigrant, against civil-rights or supporters of Trump and the right, can the white working class of America really be reduced to a singular group with similar views?
Based on extensive interviews across five cities at a crucial point in US history, this significant book showcases what the white working class think about many of the defining issues of the age - from race, identity and change to the crucial on-the-ground debates occurring at the time of the 2016 US election.
As the 2020 presidential elections draw near, this is an invaluable insight into the complex views on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and the extent and reach they have to engage in cross-racial connections.
"This timely book offers a window into the fears and sense of dislocation of white, working class Americans, while still offering hope for creating new cross-racial coalitions."
Susan J. Popkin, Urban Institute
“We need an open conversation on how divisions in societies are affecting us, today more than ever. This is an honest and sometimes brutal critique of the consequences of ignoring those difficult conversations.” Lisa Mckenzie, Durham University
Harris Beider is Head of School of Social Sciences and Professor of Communities and Public Policy at Birmingham City University. Previously he was Professor of Community Cohesion at the Centre for Trust, Peace & Social Relations at Coventry University and Visiting Professor at Columbia University in the City of New York. Harris has published widely on race, racism and white working class.
Kusminder Chahal is Senior Research Fellow at the School of Social Sciences at Birmingham City University. His research interests include race and racism, lived experience, hate crime, victim support and service responses and community-based engagement and research. He is an established equality and diversity practitioner and is currently leading on the Birmingham 2029 project - BCUs community-university engagement programme.
Introduction
Researching white working-class communities
The lived experience of being white and working class
Hope and change: choosing a president
Talking about race, identity, and change
The challenges of cross-racial coalition building
Conclusion
