"White Poverty" | Reviewed by Bill Schwab

"One of the most damnable features of our common life is the way we talk about poverty as if it's an anomaly and not a feature of our economic system," writes William Barber, the founding director of The Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. He maintains that poverty is the moral issue of our time.

One myth influencing the U.S. economy is that poverty is only a Black problem. The stereotypical person living in poverty is depicted as a “welfare queen,” an unemployed Black mother on welfare, food stamps, and handouts. Barber dispels this myth by exposing politicians who promote this label as a distraction allowing them to craft policies benefiting the wealthiest people in society at the expense of the poorest.

The author further dismisses the myth that poverty is only a Black problem by pointing to White poverty. Forty million more White people are living in poverty than people of color in the United States. This amounts to 30% of White citizens.

Barber believes bringing together the tens of millions of working-class and impoverished Whites and low-income Blacks would reduce or eliminate poverty. Average workers in America make $54 a week less than they did 50 years ago after adjusting for inflation. This factor means all lower-income American earners have much in common. Together they could reduce poverty by developing a major social-political force to address their impoverishment.

Barber's goal is to build a "moral fusion movement," which is a multi-racial/multi-ethnic coalition of Americans that seeks to unite people pitted against one another by politicians and (billionaires) by fighting back against the false narratives that escalate poverty in the U.S.

Barber's plan calls for encouraging low-wage people to vote. He reports that 87 million poor and low-wage people in the U.S. were eligible to vote in the 2020 presidential election. Still, some 30 million did not go to the polls. In 2024, there will be 135 million poor and low-wage citizens in the U.S. eligible to vote in the presidential election (66 million of whom are White.) A "moral fusion movement" could impact the outcome of local, state, and national elections. The author calls for "poverty abolitionists" who would work to achieve a Third Reconstruction, including a heightened federal minimum wage and universal access to quality health care and education for all.

"White Poverty" is a compelling visionary call to action that systematically disproves the myths perpetuating poverty and lays a hopeful path forward for all citizens.

About the author: William J. Barber II is the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy Director at Yale Divinity School. He serves as president of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign. He preaches widely and is a regular commentator on cable news shows and the op-ed pages of national newspapers.

Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove is an assistant director at the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School.

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