Introduction

This introductory chapter provides an overview of how the term “white working class” became weaponized and used as a vessel to describe people who were seen to be “deplorable.” The national narrative appears to credit (or blame) white working-class mobilization across the country for the success of Donald Trump in the 2016 US elections. Those who take this position see the white working class as being problematic in different ways: grounded in norms and behaviors that seem out of step with mainstream society; at odds with the reality of increased ethnic diversity across the country and especially in cities; blaming others for their economic plight; and disengaged from politics. While the conventional narrative about Trump, and his relation to the white working class, has the benefit of being presented as a straightforward connection to a forgotten majority, the experiences and conversations collected in this book offer more nuanced and challenging findings about the other America. Indeed, the rise of Trump and the association with the white working class needs to be placed in the wider context of a surge in support for populism in many parts of the world. Ultimately, the book explores how white working-class Americans view race, change, and immigration.

Talking about race, identity, and change

This chapter presents an edited transcript of a focus group discussion in Phoenix, Arizona, soon after the inauguration of President Trump. It highlights the views and opinions held by the participants, which became key themes emerging from the research. More importantly, it shows a group of white residents talking about their new president, his immediate actions, and the turmoil that these actions unleashed in the United States soon after he was elected. The new president was a divisive figure in the discussions. Support for Trump was not overwhelming, but he was seen as a change candidate. Meanwhile, the disruption being witnessed on the ground was seen negatively. The new president was seen as making rapid changes that were having direct, real-life consequences. Moreover, his focus on holding binary positions was seen as avoiding complexity and without nuance. “White” as an identity emerged through the actions and experiences of “black” people and the lived experiences of differences and diversity. Claiming to live in a racially and ethnically diverse area was challenged.

Conclusion

This concluding chapter addresses the issues of defining white working-class communities; the challenges of choosing a president; the importance of qualitative data and lived experiences in revealing a granular and detailed understanding of macro-changes in society; and the prospects of cross-racial coalition building. Looking ahead to the 2020 presidential elections and beyond, the chapter questions whether policymakers and researchers will learn from the messages of this research and others about the lived experiences of white working-class communities and their own sense of being left behind. The chapter then argues for a radical overhaul of the way in which white working-class communities are discussed, engaged with, and represented by policymakers and political organizations. Returning to the context of rising populism across the globe, white working-class communities cannot simply be ignored. Rather the white working class should be considered to be as diverse as any other group, an important legacy population, and a community that has a range of views shaped by location, politics, and culture. This opens up the prospect of exciting possibilities for research, policy, practice, and coalition building.

The challenges of cross‑racial coalition building

This chapter examines the possibilities of building cross-racial coalitions between the white working class and communities of color as the United States transitions from majority white to a minority white country. Fifty years after the campaign for civil rights and the passage of landmark legislation during the 1960s, there is little evidence of formal and sustainable cross-racial coalition building at the grassroots or grasstops level between the white working class and communities of color. White working-class communities wanted to engage with communities of color but did not have the means of engaging across racial boundaries beyond a superficial everyday level. Discussions between different communities were “soft-wired” and based on fleeting exchanges in informal spaces rather than becoming “hard-wired” in a strategic plan that can create a framework for coalition building. Stakeholders were largely ambivalent and occasionally hostile toward engaging with white working-class communities to build effective cross-racial alliances. Similar to white working-class communities in relation to communities of color, stakeholders found it challenging to engage with these groups.

The lived experience of being white and working class

This chapter argues that definitions of the white working class, which have been used extensively, need to be reconsidered. Typically, these definitions focus on non-Hispanic white people without a college degree. Yet, using this definition, the billionaire internet entrepreneurs Bill Gates of Microsoft and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook would be framed as members of the white working class. Clearly, this is not the case. Missing in the discussion on definition is how people themselves consider working-class life and social mores, and especially the importance of values and norms in shaping their lived experiences. The chapter assesses further the challenges of ascribing privilege to the white working-class communities who took part in the study. In the various discussions, “white” was often viewed uncritically and implicitly, and was dropped quickly, when exploring the lived experiences of the white working class by the research participants. The importance of working hard and being honest was emphasized, as well as the relevance of class. White working-class communities were viewed as classed, while communities of color were often raced.

Researching white working‑class communities

This chapter discusses the researchers' positionality in relation to the research and the research participants for this study. As two UK-based, non-white, male researchers moving into potentially all-white spaces to undertake qualitative research, they both reflected on their perceived and actual identities and assumptions prior to, entering, and during the fieldwork. The dominant paradigm of the research was evident in their entry into the field. It cut across a highly charged and emotive 2016 US election campaign. Donald Trump's speeches during 2016 were littered with references that cultivated and encouraged differences between groups: describing immigrants as a potential threat to the American people; framing the problems experienced by white working-class Americans as caused by elitist decision-making and a politically correct media and culture that ignores the needs of white Americans; and suggesting that women need protection from foreign “evil” forces. The researchers recognized that Trump's speeches and rhetoric may create a febrile atmosphere, and that they would need to consider their safety and be conscious that, in some situations, conversations with white working-class people may be challenging and possibly unsafe. The chapter then details the methodological approach that led the research team to engage and interview 415 people across five cities. The team was committed to working in partnership with local activists, stakeholders, and residents wherever that was possible and appropriate.

Hope and change: choosing a president

This chapter reflects on the challenge of choosing a president, drawing on conversations with white working-class communities about their lived economic and social experiences, as well as their lived values. It emphasizes how the rise of Donald Trump, from an outside candidate for the Republican nomination to being elected president in 2016, created a backdrop for the book. His was the “hope and change” candidacy and he clearly “weaponized” the discussion on white working-class communities by portraying himself as the victim of political elites who had no interest in the lives of ordinary people. This was in contrast to Trump's defeated opponent Hillary Clinton, who could not move from being seen as an establishment candidate who was out of touch with white working-class values, which were so important in defining who belonged to this group. The chapter then takes a critical view of the white working class being positioned as enthusiastic cheerleaders for Trump.