Wages of Whiteness

Paper Summary:

The writer of this article discusses that in the work 'The Wages of Whiteness', the author, Roediger, explores the relationship between the growth of America's working classes and the social construction of prejudice behaviors or racism. The writer notes that the author structures the book chronologically, looking historically at the history of racism and working classes within the United States. The writer discusses that the primary premise behind the work is that white workers throughout history demanded or pushed for higher wages than their minority or African-American counterparts. The writer concludes that there is no doubt left in the mind of the reader that subjects of whiteness and discrimination continue within the United States.

From the Paper:

"To support these arguments the author utilizes many resources, both primary and secondary. Much of the secondary information acquired by Roediger comes from his work with the Organization of American Historians, a select society that won Roediger a prize for his fervent work toward social equality. From the very first pages of the work, Roediger references tales of prejudice, by describing the experiences of two white boys, stating one carried a knife referred to as a "nigger gigger" which emphasizes the predominance of racism during the time periods the book reflects on. Kathleen Cleaver, who provides the introduction to the work, notes Roediger explores racism during the early years of US history, arguing that people cannot defend working class racism by reviewing socio-economic status only or alone. The same is true of students with economic advantages. Cleaver goes on to point out Roediger's belief that certain ideologies and psychological mythologies underpin many stereotypes against minorities, specifically Afridan Americans. These "ideologies" resulted in further classification of people of different color, enforcing pre-existing stereotypes about the ability or inability of any one class of people."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bernstein, I. (1992, Dec). The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the making of the American working class, The Journal of American History, 79(3): 1120-1121.
• Bonnett, A. (1996), White studies: The problems and projects of a new research agenda, Theory, Culture & Society, 13(2): 150.
• Duggan, T. (1997, Jul). Honkey Blues, Salon. Retrieved October 29, 2007: http://www.salon.com/july97/white2970702.html
• Frankenberg, R. (1997). Displacing whiteness: Essays in social and cultural criticism, London Duke University Press.
• Garvey, J., & Ignatiev, N. (1997). Toward a new abolitionism: A race traitor manifesto, In: M. Hill (Ed.), Whiteness: A critical reader (346). New York: New York University Press.

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