White Poverty - How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy

Challenging the definition of who is poor in America, in White Poverty, William J. Barber II writes about the lies that prevent us from seeing the pain of poor white American families who have been offered little more than their "whiteness" and angry social media posts to sustain them in an economy where the costs of housing, healthcare and education have skyrocketed while wages have stagnated for all but the very rich. White Poverty, lifts the hope for a new "moral fusion movement" that seeks to unite people "who have been pitted against one another by politicians (and billionaires) who depend on the poorest of us not being here." One of the most empathetic and visionary approaches to American poverty in decades, Barber braids poignant autobiographical recollections with astute historical analysis, contending that tens of millions of America's poorest earners have much in common.

About the author

Reverend William J. Barber II is a Protestant minister, social activist, professor, and founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. President of Repairers of the Breach, Barber will lead the Poor People’s Campaign’s March on Washington in June 2024.Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove is founder of the School for Conversion and assistant director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School.

Product details

• Authors: William J Barber, Barber William J.
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 28.10.2025
• EAN: 9781324096757
• ISBN: 978-1-324-09675-7
• Illustrations: 12 illustrations
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; USA, Ethnic Studies, HISTORY / United States / 21st Century, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Poverty & Homelessness, 21st Century, Political activism, Poverty & unemployment, 21st century history: from c 2000 -, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, Social issues & processes, United States of America, USA, Mixed heritage / mixed race groups or people, History of the Americas, Social and ethical issues, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Biracial & Multiracial Studies, Housing & homelessness, Poverty and precarity, Housing and homelessness, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Activism & Social Justice, Political activism / Political engagement