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Bridging the class divide

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Internalized classism

College Amplifies Advantages & Disadvantages

March 30, 2020 by Betsy Leondar-Wright Leave a Comment

Here’s some bad news for all of us who strive to get more working-class first-generation students into and through college: college is not an effective leveller. Class inequalities persist even among graduates of ‘good’ colleges. Expanding opportunities for higher education is ineffective if advantaged students graduate with even greater advantages, and if disadvantaged graduates still […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class in Higher Education, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in the Economy, First Generation College Students, Internalized classism

Class, Race and the Trump Administration

August 9, 2018 by Class Action 1 Comment

A May 2018 report by Philip G. Alston, a U.N. special rapporteur, examines poverty in the United States. The report findings were based on 40 detailed written submissions and Alton’s in-person meetings with government officials at all levels; members of Congress; nonprofit and religious leaders; academics; indigenous people living in poverty in several U.S. states. […]

Filed Under: Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Politics, Classism in the Economy, Clueless classism, Institutional racism, Internalized classism, Race and Class

Thank You for Being on Time

July 11, 2018 by Nicole Braun 2 Comments

A few months ago, I made an appointment at the low-income clinic to see their therapist. I was hoping to find someone to listen to me – so I could hear my own voice better. The nurse practitioner suggested this as an option since I don’t make much money teaching part time. When I arrived, […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class and health, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in social services, Clueless classism, Health care access, Internalized classism Tagged With: classism, health care, stereotypes, working class

Happy Day Before Payday!

July 9, 2018 by Kari Fisher Leave a Comment

While summer 2018 has been a scorcher, the high for February 1st and 2nd made it to 11º in Kari Fisher’s hometown in Minnesota, and single digits reigned during both school days. I got the email from one of my son’s high school teachers while I was teaching and didn’t have a chance to read it […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in K-12 Education, Clueless classism, Internalized classism, Poverty, Your Stories Tagged With: class cluelessness, kids, low-wage jobs, money, public school

Poverty Constrains Your Wardrobe – and You

July 5, 2018 by Angela McEwen Leave a Comment

I will always remember December 2013. It was a particularly cold winter, and downtown Los Gatos was in the low 30s. My friend Jane rented a carriage and invited me to come along. I declined because I did not have a jacket. I was too ashamed to tell her why, so she was rightfully angry […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Internalized classism, Money, Poverty, Your Stories Tagged With: downward mobility, low-wage jobs, money, poverty

B1GS: First Gen College Students

April 19, 2018 by Johnasia McCrea Leave a Comment

I am a sophomore at Rutgers University-Camden, studying psychology with a minor in childhood studies and social work. I am also – with great pride – a first generation college student. I aspire to become a child psychologist. During the spring semester of my freshman year, I had the opportunity to attend the Class Action […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, First Generation College Students, Internalized classism Tagged With: academia, education, first generation college students, poverty, working class

Is Elvis-Hating Classist?

August 15, 2017 by Lita Kurth 1 Comment

So much depends on whether you are looking up at Elvis from the working poor or working-class or down at him from the middle- and upper-class. When you look at photos of Elvis fans at his funeral or Graceland, they don’t usually look well-off. Their haircuts, clothes, whole demeanor suggest they came from the same […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class cultures, Class in the Media, Class prejudice, Internalized classism, Pop Culture Classism Tagged With: class cultures, classism, snobs, stereotypes, working class

Vulnerability Is Courage: A First Gen Student Journey

July 25, 2017 by Beth Miller 1 Comment

Feeling Vulnerable as a First Gen As a first generation student, I felt vulnerable, and I didn’t want anyone to know it. So I didn’t ask for help, and I failed out of Syracuse University after a year and a half. My next attempt was at Central Connecticut State University, where I was a walk […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class in Higher Education, First Generation College Students, Internalized classism Tagged With: academia, education, first generation college students, speaking up

Assimilation and the First Generation College Student

May 4, 2017 by Bobby Zaman 1 Comment

Going to college as a first generation student of color is more than just getting the money and applying for the right scholarships. It’s also about fitting in, trying to relate to your peers and constantly assimilating to a new culture. Money is only the first hill we must climb before hurtling over various mountains […]

Filed Under: Class cultures, Class in Higher Education, Class prejudice, Classism, First Generation College Students, Internalized classism Tagged With: academia, classism, education, first generation college students, snobs, stereotypes, working class

Five Classist Pitfalls to #Resist in Your Activism

February 13, 2017 by Davey Shlasko 4 Comments

In a moment of potentially revolutionary activism and mobilization, don’t let classism undermine your efforts. The past few weeks have been both terrifying and inspiring. In the midst of ascending totalitarianism and the drastic, likely unconstitutional roll-backs of basic rights, we are also seeing a swift mobilization from both new and established activists. Organizations and […]

Filed Under: Class prejudice, Classism in Politics, Classism in Progressive Movement Groups, Cross-class alliances, Dealing with privilege, Internalized classism, LGBT & Class, Politics and Class Tagged With: activism, class cultures, classism, community organizing, middle class, owning class, privilege, social movements, working class

Systematic Failure: A Recipe for Self-Doubt

September 15, 2016 by Alyshia Macaysa 3 Comments

What does it mean when our education system, “The Great Equalizer,” turns low-income dreamers into third-generation self-doubters? When a high-quality education system is built only to serve and advance the dreams of highly resourced, high-wealth individuals? Prior to my time at UC Berkeley, the formula to a successful college career seemed pretty simple. All you […]

Filed Under: Class cultures, Class in Higher Education, Classism, Dismantlng Classism, First Generation College Students, Institutional racism, Internalized classism Tagged With: academia, classism, community organizing, education, first generation college students, poverty, privilege, race and class, racism

Finding My Place in Academia as a First-Gen

May 1, 2016 by Kenneth Lambert Jr Leave a Comment

As the first in my family to attend college and to go on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees, I have definitely struggled to find my place in the world of academia, the class system of higher education, and to understand the worth of my experience. As a child of mixed Caucasian and Native American […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class in Higher Education, First Generation College Students, Internalized classism Tagged With: academia, classism, education, first generation college students, poverty

When are you no longer a first generation college student?

January 22, 2014 by Adj Marshall 2 Comments

Why was I feeling inadequate, angry, and torn between family and academia, just like first-generation college students feel? I was a graduate student with a college degree, damn it! Shouldn’t these feelings be gone by now? When I was admitted to graduate school, I was ecstatic. In my journal I wrote that I was “excited […]

Filed Under: Class in Higher Education, First Generation College Students, Internalized classism

Toothpaste, Katrina and My Recovery from Classism

January 3, 2014 by Amanda Dye Leave a Comment

During my second week living in Boston, I faced one of those frightening moments of choosing whether or not to come out in front of a group that could go against me. I’d been faced with coming out before, but this time it wasn’t coming out as a lesbian, but coming out as poor. I […]

Filed Under: Class in Higher Education, Classism in Everyday Life, Internalized classism Tagged With: classism, poverty

Thinking Positive Thoughts as the Ship Sinks: Oprah, Tolle & New Age Classism

April 9, 2013 by Nicole Braun 31 Comments

I’m concerned about classism in the new age, self help and spiritual movements. Oprah Winfrey’s show and “lifeclass,” which many people study religiously, promote individualistic “create your own reality” ideas, including the philosophy of guru Eckhart Tolle. “Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it,” Tolle writes. These ideas can be […]

Filed Under: Internalized classism, Pop Culture Classism, Spirituality and Ending Classism Tagged With: blaming the victim, individualism, New Age spirituality, poverty, unemployment

Need vs. Greed: Greed Wins

March 13, 2013 by Lita Kurth Leave a Comment

I’ve been interviewing people and carrying out research lately on housing affordability in San Jose, and what I’ve found has been both heartbreaking and enraging. In a city and area where housing is jaw-droppingly expensive, some of the wealthy exploit the poor, or worse, take for themselves public goods intended for the needy. Beginning my […]

Filed Under: Classism in Everyday Life, Classism in the Economy, Internalized classism, Money, Poverty Tagged With: affordable housing, homeless, immigrants, poverty

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