William J. Barber (author) with Johnathan Wilson-Hartgrove, White Poverty: how exposing myths about race and class can reconstruct American Democracy. New York: Liveright Publishing (imprint of W.W. Norton), 2024. ISBN: 9781324094876.
Genre: current affairs, social issues
Subgenre: US politics and society, poverty
Format: hardback
Source: Hutchins Library, Berea College
This is a book that will stay with me for a while. It was not an easy read for me, in part due to the 2024 U.S. presidential election results. Reverend Barber has way more charity than I do when it comes to folks that, many of them, sent the Pendejo In Chief back to DC. I hear once more the old saying, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. So I did my best to put that aside in order to read this book. Having read the book I am sure I can totally put that feeling aside, but I have a bit of clarity. I feel I understand a few things better, and it affirms something I believe strongly: if only we could unite against the oligarchs and robber barons, truly unite, we could truly change things. Therein though is the catch: getting people, especially the white poor, to see the struggles they have in common with other poor folks.
Barber looks at the issue of poverty in the United States, focusing on white poverty. The U.S. as a whole tends to ignore or refuse to see white poverty. Heck, white poor people often refuse to see themselves as poor, and the politicians of both parties take full advantage of that attitude to push their agendas, agendas that certainly do not help those white poor folks, or no one else other than the oligarchs and robber barons. Barber, a Black minister, writes on white poverty because in the end poverty is poverty, and unlike politicians and racists, poverty does not care about the color of your skin nor any other demographic traits.
In order to make his argument, Barber looks at four myths about poverty in the United States:
- Pale skin is a shared interest.
- Only Black folks want change in America.
- Poverty is only a Black issue.
- We can't overcome division.
He then proceeds to discuss and dismantle those myths. The myths have been in the United States since the nation's birth, so it will take a lot of work to get people to see past them. The reverend puts in the work to break the myths apart using history, some Christian scripture (the man is a preacher), and many local stories and testimonies. The local stories and testimonies are a strength of the book. They are moving and powerful, and get the points across in practical terms. The good reverend often let's the poor folks speak for themselves.
Barber has a lyrical and moving writing style that is also down to earth. You can't help but keep reading as he draws you in with warmth and kindness. I may not always agree with the man, but I kept on reading to see what he had to say and to learn more.
In addition, the book also includes Wilson-Hartgrove's epilogue, which is a must-read, Barber's sermon for Biden's inauguration, and a notes section to document the statistics and facts presented in the book.
As I often say and write, this is one of those books that more people, other than the choir, need to read. It certainly is timely reading in these Hard Times and for the work ahead. It offers important lessons. We just need to be willing to do the work and find what we have in common.
I recommend the book for all libraries. In my humble opinion, this is a book that could be an option for the campus faculty book club. I will go a step further and say campus should invite the good reverend to speak at a convocation. Our students could get much benefit from such a convocation. Speaking of students, this book may be of interest locally for classes in General Studies, regional studies, ethnic studies, political science, and sociology.
An essential read. It was worth it breaking my politics/activist stuff/social issues moratorium to read it. This book will likely go on my top list of nonfiction read for 2025.
5 out of 5 stars.
Additional reading notes:
Why the author wrote the book:
"I've written this book to ask America to look at its poor-- all its poor-- in the face and acknowledge that those faces are overwhelmingly white" (ix).
Defining poverty in the book:
"When I talk about poverty in this book, I'm talking about every American who lives in the edge-- not because they choose to, but because of policy decisions we continue to make as a nation. It's critical to name that poverty isn't an isolated experience in America. It is everywhere. And while it disproportionately weighs on Black and brown people, this basic fact of American inequality remains hidden in plain sight: white people are by far the largest racial demographic among America's poor" (xii).
The failure of American politicians in both parties to name or even acknowledge the problem:
"Over the past half century, Republicans in public life have tended to blame the poor, repeating myths that suggest poor folks are not people facing a problem, but rather are themselves the problem. Democrats, on the other hand, have tried to avoid talking about poor people by developing euphemisms like 'those aspiring to the middle class.' Meanwhile, people who don't have enough to make ends meet aren't sure anyone sees them. Are they 'working class' if they make it to their low-wage job in the minivan that their whole family slept in last night? Does 'lower middle class' include them if they sleep in a bed that someone who works third shift use while they work the day shift at the local factory?" (10).
On a side note, I said prior to the 2024 U.S. elections that Democrats were not listening, and that was going to cost them. I did not think at the time they would lose the election, but I figured they would at least sweat bullets. They failed to read the fucking room. At the very least those people wanted to be listened to, acknowledged, taken seriously. Democrats ignored them and thus made them easy picking for the GOP and its pandering. Not that the Republicans would do better by them-- they will not-- but for a brief moment they pretended to listen, to show some interest. I add to this the words of author Brian Keene, which I paraphrase from memory: never underestimate the power Americans feel in saying fuck you, even if they go down too. But in the end, as I often say, I am not a pundit nor play one on TV.
This is just a good image and line:
"From the hills of Appalachia to the streets of Ferguson, there is a tie that binds people of every race who get up in the morning and strive to hew a stone of hope out of the mountain of hardship that weighs on their backs" (29).
The problem in United States politics (or one of the many problems):
"The problem in American politics isn't that poor white people vote against their interests so much as it is that poor people don't have anyone to represent their interests" (76).
What a seer actually is, at least in the time of prophets:
"When the ancients called prophets 'seers,' they didn't mean that they have magical powers to look into a crystal ball and foretell the details of a future none of us can know. Instead they meant that seers can see the patterns of our shared life and know where our choices are leading us" (139).
Not that I would declare myself a seer, but between training, education, observation, intuition, and doing my own Great Work, I can see patterns fairly well. As a cartomancer, it is not so much magic and telling the future (though I do have my magic); it is about making sense of the patterns you see and seeing them honestly. The signs are there to be seen if one is willing to see them and hear. But again, I am not a pundit nor play one on TV.
A line to remember:
"We can't work for justice in America without talking about race, but we do not need to make white people our enemy to challenge racism" (194).
That seems so simple and yet so many people in the U.S. outright forget it or ignore it.
A couple of books from the notes section for my TBR list:
- Sylvie Laurent, King and the Other America.
- Matthew Desmond, Poverty, by America. To be honest, I had this book on my TBR list as I got a review copy before my boycott of publishers and imprints that sued Internet Archive. So I could have read it, but figured I could skip it due to the boycott. However, my library did get a copy, so I can read it on the basis of having the review copy before the start date and also to review it for our library. We'll see.
Book qualifies for the following 2025 Reading Challenge:
