Looking at the White Working Class Historically

by David Gilbert What is the role of the white working class in the US? Are we at the front lines of the fight against oppression, or are we capitalism's complicit foot soldiers? Are we the ultimate underdogs or dangerously unaware of our privilege? Or some combination of all and none of the above? Written in the early 1980s from prison by David Gilbert, a white activist who worked with the Weather Underground and Black Liberation Army, this pamphlet reflects on the historical race and class analyses of thinkers such as W.E.B. DuBois, J. Sakai, and Ted Allen to tease out the complexities of the contradictions of the white working class identity. Activists seeking to end white supremacy and build solidarity across race and class lines will gain valuable insight in these lessons from the radicals of the 1960s and before. Read this instead of Hillbilly Elegy, ugh, seriously.