The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class
Combining classical Marxism, psychoanalysis, and the new labor history pioneered by E. P. Thompson and Herbert Gutman, David Roediger’s widely acclaimed book provides an original study of the formative years of working-class racism in the United States. This, he argues, cannot be explained simply with reference to economic advantage; rather, white working-class racism is underpinned by a complex series of psychological and ideological mechanisms that reinforce racial stereotypes, and thus help to forge the identities of white workers in opposition to Blacks.
In a new preface, Roediger reflects on the reception, influence, and critical response to The Wages of Whiteness, while Kathleen Cleaver’s insightful introduction hails the importance of a work that has become a classic.
Paperback, 195 pages
ISBN: 9781844671458
July 2007
$22.95 / £12.99
Other Editions
Paperback, 197 pages
ISBN: 9781859842409
January 1999
$19.95 / £12.00
Hardback, 195 pages
ISBN: 9781844671267
July 2007
$95.00 / £55.00
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Part of the Haymarket Series series
Reviews
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“The Celestine Prophecy of whiteness studies.”
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“An extremely important and insightful book.”
Blog
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"We are black..."—Verso books for Black History Month
We are black, it is true, but tell us, gentlemen, you who are so judicious, what is the law that says that the black man must belong to and be the property of the white man? ... Yes, gentleman, we are free like you, and it is only by your avarice and our ignorance that anyone is still held in slavery up to this day, and we can neither see nor find the right that you pretend to have over us ... We are your equals then, by natural right, and if nature pleases itself to diversify colours within the human race, it is not a crime to be born black nor an advantage to be white.
This excerpt is from a letter written in July 1792 by the leaders of the revolution of Haitian slaves. The letter has been republished in the collection of writings of the black leader Toussaint L'Overture, The Haitian Revolution, which includes also the correspondence between him and Napoleon Bonaparte. In the late eighteenth century, Toussaint L'Overture and his supporters established the first black republic in the world.
In the United Kingdom, October is Black History Month. The celebration was originally introduced in 1926 on the initiative of Carter G. Woodson, the editor of the Journal of Negro History. In 2007, no fewer than 6,000 events were held in the UK as part of its programme. Here are some key Verso titles past and present that are relevant to the study and celebration of African and Caribbean history.
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Join Verso authors in NYC at AAWW's "After 1989: Race After Multiculturalism" Symposium
"Part symposium, part late night talk show, part Youtube nostalgia-fest," the Asian American Writers' Workshop will be presenting a fun, five-part event series throughout March to think about an alternative racial history of the 1990s. It goes without saying that the 90s were a strange time: neoliberal triumphalism gave birth to a culture of political correctness and a reigning sensibility of diversity based on the simple belief we can all just get along. Yet, at every step of the way, it was accompanied by intense forms of division and surreal spectacles of discrimination of virtually every stripe imaginable. -
The Journal of African American History on David Roediger's How Race Survived US History
In a recent review for The Journal of African American History, Gerald Horne recommends David R. Roediger's How Race Survived US History as a book to be relied upon for "much needed historical perspective" as the Obama presidency plays out. And with Obama's 2012 reelection campaign having officially kicked off today (and with The Hill suggesting he "would probably do well to steer clear of race in general during his upcoming reelection season"), now seems as good a time as any to pick up How Race Survived US History ...
