Overview

"When most Americans think of poverty, they imagine Black faces. As a teenager, Reverend William J. Barber II recalls seeing Black mothers interviewed on television whenever there was a story on food stamps or unemployment; poverty, then as now, was depicted as an essentially Black problem. In a work that promises to have lasting repercussions, Barber-now a leading advocate for the rights of our nation's poor and the ""closest person we have to Dr. King"" (Cornel West)-addresses white poverty as a hugely neglected subject that might just be the key to mitigating racism and bringing together the tens of millions working-class and impoverished whites with low-income Blacks. Recognizing that angry social media posts have replaced food, education, and housing as a ""salve"" for the white poor, Barber contends that the millions of America's lowest-income earners have much in common, and together with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, provides one of the most sympathetic and visionary approaches to endemic poverty in decades."

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9781324094876

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Reviews

"A must-read for anyone who wants to know how together we can climb to higher ground.--Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America As a prophet of social justice and change, Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II upholds the movement of interracial 'moral fusion' as the only way to pull America back from the complete economic and moral impoverishment of right-wing politics. A powerful and irresistible vision of another path for America.--Representative Jamie Raskin Brimming with insight and prophetic fire, this book is essential reading for policymakers, moral leaders, and everyday folk concerned about our nation.--Eddie S. Glaude Jr., author of Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own Our low unemployment rate is nothing to boast about if incomes can't sustain life. We call Black people on the edge 'poor' and white people with the same too-low incomes 'working class.' Together, they are nearly half of America. . . . Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II's inspired book shows that abandoning stereotypes can mobilize a biracial and multiethnic force for economic reform that is within reach.--Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II is one of our nation's most important prophets. In this book, he raises his clarion voice to amplify the cry of America's poor, especially the invisible majority of impoverished white Americans.--The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church This powerful text is a welcome antidote to the persistent myths about poverty in America, and a guidebook for all of us who are working to end the crisis of poverty and low wages.--Ben Wilkins, Keith Bullard, and Laurel Ashton, Union of Southern Service Workers A clarion call for Americans of every race and background to unite for a Third Reconstruction focused on tackling the interlocking problems that have denied us an economy that works for all.... White Poverty is equal parts biblical inspiration, commonsense wisdom, scholarly insight, history lessons, and grassroots strategy. Through religious metaphor, poetic asides, and real-life anecdotes, Reverend Barber captures what ails America and what is needed to lift more people out of poverty and nourish our 'impoverished democracy'.... White Poverty reminded me that poverty is color-blind.--Terry Edmonds, Washington Monthly 'One of the most damnable features of our common life is the way we talk about poverty as if it's an anomaly and not a feature of our economic system, ' writes [Reverend William J.] Barber II, founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. That feature shifts wealth from the already have-nots to the already haves, but with divisive subterfuge: White Americans are thought to be working-class and Blacks poor. The definition of poverty must be extended, notes the author, to incorporate anybody who cannot afford to pay rent and their other expenses, which would result in a number far larger than is now counted by official reports... [White Poverty is] a meaningful call to revise our view of poverty and to insist on real action to rectify the situation.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" Reverend Barber is one of the foremost leaders in our country working to take on poverty and economic injustice. He knows that we can bring about great change by building a multi-racial, multi-generational coalition of working-class people. Building a mass movement of ordinary people is how we end today's unprecedented levels of greed and economic inequality. WHITE POVERTY is a guide for how we bring people together and do exactly that.--Senator Bernie Sanders"

"A must-read for anyone who wants to know how together we can climb to higher ground.--Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America As a prophet of social justice and change, Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II upholds the movement of interracial 'moral fusion' as the only way to pull America back from the complete economic and moral impoverishment of right-wing politics. A powerful and irresistible vision of another path for America.--Representative Jamie Raskin Brimming with insight and prophetic fire, this book is essential reading for policymakers, moral leaders, and everyday folk concerned about our nation.--Eddie S. Glaude Jr., author of Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own Our low unemployment rate is nothing to boast about if incomes can't sustain life. We call Black people on the edge 'poor' and white people with the same too-low incomes 'working class.' Together, they are nearly half of America. . . . Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II's inspired book shows that abandoning stereotypes can mobilize a biracial and multiethnic force for economic reform that is within reach.--Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II is one of our nation's most important prophets. In this book, he raises his clarion voice to amplify the cry of America's poor, especially the invisible majority of impoverished white Americans.--The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church This powerful text is a welcome antidote to the persistent myths about poverty in America, and a guidebook for all of us who are working to end the crisis of poverty and low wages.--Ben Wilkins, Keith Bullard, and Laurel Ashton, Union of Southern Service Workers 'One of the most damnable features of our common life is the way we talk about poverty as if it's an anomaly and not a feature of our economic system, ' writes [Reverend William J.] Barber II, founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. That feature shifts wealth from the already have-nots to the already haves, but with divisive subterfuge: White Americans are thought to be working-class and Blacks poor. The definition of poverty must be extended, notes the author, to incorporate anybody who cannot afford to pay rent and their other expenses, which would result in a number far larger than is now counted by official reports... [WHITE POVERTY is] a meaningful call to revise our view of poverty and to insist on real action to rectify the situation.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" Reverend Barber is one of the foremost leaders in our country working to take on poverty and economic injustice. He knows that we can bring about great change by building a multi-racial, multi-generational coalition of working-class people. Building a mass movement of ordinary people is how we end today's unprecedented levels of greed and economic inequality. WHITE POVERTY is a guide for how we bring people together and do exactly that.--Senator Bernie Sanders"

Author Information

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.

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