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Bridging the class divide

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privilege

Classism in Our Schools

September 26, 2018 by Andy Pope 5 Comments

Students begin to experience the effects of classism in schools as early as kindergarten, or perhaps even nursery school. Elementary school playgrounds reveal the effects of classism on a child’s education. Families living in poverty and even working-class families cannot readily afford the latest toy or gadget that might be all the rage on the […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism Tagged With: academia, blaming the victim, bullying, classism, education, kids, privilege, working class

#FirstGenThrowback

September 26, 2018 by Lana W. Jackman Leave a Comment

Reflecting on my own experience as a first-generation college student, I rarely used the educational resources of the academic library. Being a first-gen, library usage was just not ingrained in my family culture. As a result, I had no idea of the variety or richness of the resources available that could have helped me learn […]

Filed Under: Classism in Higher Education, First Generation College Students Tagged With: academia, class cultures, education, first generation college students, privilege, working class

A Reflection on the Gig Economy

August 31, 2018 by Anonymous Leave a Comment

I am no stranger to the gig economy. I have relied on it from time to time to supplement the income from my small business. When business is slow – or more often – when vendors are slow to pay me, I’ve taken short-term temp work, signed up for focus groups or been a “secret […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Building Economic Alternatives, Classism in the Economy, Classist Corporations, Poverty, Workplace classism Tagged With: consumerism, corporations, low-wage jobs, Minimum wage, privilege, working class

Why Do You Want to Be Poor?

July 5, 2018 by Alejandro Villa Vasquez Leave a Comment

Growing up poor on Long Island builds character. While trying to balance personal responsibilities with maintaining a GPA high enough to make myself a competitive candidate for scholarships and college admissions, I found that I could make several distinct dinner recipes from just adobo seasoning, week-old produce and recooked meat products. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was necessary. It […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class in Higher Education, Class prejudice, Cultural capital, Dealing with privilege, First Generation College Students, Poverty Tagged With: academia, class cluelessness, class cultures, classism, first generation college students, poverty, privilege, Rationalizing privilege, working class

The Case for the Maximum Wage

June 7, 2018 by Sam Pizzigati 1 Comment

For classist put-downs, a maximum wage just may be the ultimate antidote. How raw can class contempt get? Take a look at the venom that oozed out earlier this spring from Ronald Havner, the CEO of Public Storage, America’s biggest self-storage company. This year, for the first time ever, enterprises like Public Storage have had […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Building Economic Alternatives, Class prejudice, Classism, Workplace classism Tagged With: blaming the victim, classism, owning class, privilege, Rationalizing privilege, super-rich

Breaking the Silence about Class in One Liberal Denomination

May 1, 2018 by Class Action 1 Comment

In 2012, I was lucky enough to attend a remarkable weekend-long Class Action Train-the-Trainers mega-workshop. I did not attend to learn techniques to raise awareness about class and classism but instead to improve my skills as a trainer on the topic of communications and marketing. While the focus of the Class Action workshop was, of course, on social class […]

Filed Under: Classism in Progressive Movement Groups, Religion and Class, Spirituality and Ending Classism, Systemic Classism, Teaching about class Tagged With: class awareness, class cultures, class inclusion, classism, low-wage jobs, middle class, owning class, poverty, privilege, working class

The Prosperity Gospel and Classism

May 1, 2018 by Andy Pope 1 Comment

As a Christian and a formerly homeless person, I have seen how classism seems to run rampant in American Christianity. This is especially evident in what is often called the Prosperity Gospel. The Prosperity Gospel, in short, is a particularly inviting deception that equates spiritual blessings with material success. Of course, it is entirely conceivable […]

Filed Under: Class prejudice, Classism, Religion and Class Tagged With: consumerism, poverty, privilege, Rationalizing privilege

Janus v AFSCME:

February 24, 2018 by Bill Fletcher Jr. Leave a Comment

What the Supreme Court May Strip from Workers The roar of the approaching storm can be both heard and felt in workplaces across the United States. The prospects inherent in a much anticipated – and in many places feared – Supreme Court decision in the case Janus v AFSCME has the political Right giddy. Among […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Politics, Classist Corporations, Corporate power, Labor movement, Politics and Class, Workplace classism Tagged With: blaming the victim, labor law, low-wage jobs, privilege, teachers unions, union-bashing

President Trump, One Year Later

January 29, 2018 by Josh Hoxie Leave a Comment

After 12 months that have felt like an eternity, Mr. Trump remains as greedy and volatile as ever. Donald Trump campaigned on the pledge to “Make America Great Again,” but he never did specify exactly who he wanted to make the country great for. After a year in office, we can deduce from his actions […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism in Politics, Classism in the Economy, Corporate power, Owning class, Politics and Class Tagged With: activism, bullying, owning class, privilege, super-rich, tax cuts

Trump’s First Year: Did the Working-Class Benefit?

January 29, 2018 by Christa Avampato Leave a Comment

Donald Trump ran for president on a populist and inclusionary platform. As he campaigned across the country, he appealed to increasingly larger numbers of Americans who felt forgotten by the country’s policies and politicians. Despite the fact that he lost the popular vote by three million, there’s no doubt that he tapped into the visceral […]

Filed Under: Building Economic Alternatives, Classism in K-12 Education, Classism in Politics, Health care access, Money, Politics and Class Tagged With: classism, health care, privilege, public school, super-rich, tax cuts, working class

“Homeless People Not Wanted Here”

January 9, 2018 by Nicole Braun 5 Comments

They are all addicts, criminals, on drugs, mentally ill, dangerous and have made bad choices, unlike us.  That was the general sentiment of the people who showed up to protest a new homeless shelter in the community where I live. They might as well have put a sign out that read, Poor People Keep Out. […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism Tagged With: blaming the victim, classism, homeless, poverty, privilege, Rationalizing privilege, snobs

Andy’s Story: Class and Homelessness

January 9, 2018 by Andy Pope 4 Comments

Before the year 2004, the word “classism” was not in my vocabulary. As a music teacher at a prestigious private elementary school and a private teacher of piano and voice, I schmoozed comfortably with those who could afford such high-quality education for their children. The fact that many of them lived in million dollar homes […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Affordable Housing, Classism in the Economy, Dealing with privilege, Health care access, Poverty, Systemic Classism, Your Stories Tagged With: academia, blaming the victim, class cultures, poverty, privilege, stereotypes, super-rich, working class

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Statement Voted 2017 Most Classist Comment

December 31, 2017 by Class Action Leave a Comment

For Immediate Release: December 31, 2017 Contact: Anne Phillips, 617.477.8635; Denise Moorehead, 781.608.4608 BOSTON – For the eighth consecutive year, Class Action has asked people from across the United States to nominate and then vote for the Most Classist Comment of the year. With 35.7% of the vote, U.S. Senator Charles (Chuck) E. Grassley’s (R-Iowa) […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism in Politics, Doubting Class Exists, Electoral politics, Politics and Class Tagged With: blaming the victim, budget cuts, privilege, Rationalizing privilege, snobs, stereotypes, super-rich

Class Background and Life Choices

October 24, 2017 by Class Action Leave a Comment

For years, I defined class in the traditional way: Class is the relative social rank in terms of education, income, wealth, status/position and/or power. But more recently I have added the final phrase “life expectations/choices.” In the last two years I made a conscious decision to be, I hope temporarily, “downwardly mobile.” I have seen how […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Classism, Classism in Everyday Life, Your Stories Tagged With: classism, downward mobility, middle class, privilege, stereotypes

Four Ways Nonprofits Can Address the Classism Within

September 21, 2017 by Class Action 1 Comment

Several years ago, I was sitting in a diversity training of a nonprofit I helped manage. We’d spent the morning talking about inequality within the organization around the issues of race, sexual orientation, gender and even political leanings. All of a sudden tears began to roll down one woman’s face. Despite obviously trying to hold […]

Filed Under: Class cultures, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Progressive Movement Groups, Dismantlng Classism Tagged With: classism, middle class, privilege, working class

Reader Feedback on Classism Exposed

August 16, 2017 by Class Action Leave a Comment

More than 100 people responded to the summer 2017 Classism Exposed 5-Minute Survey. The responses were as diverse as the people who responded, as evidenced by the demographic information collected. However, there were clear preferences for the length of blog posts, blog topics and for how often readers want to receive the Classism Exposed blog eBlast. It […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism Tagged With: class cultures, classism, education, privilege, racism, Rationalizing privilege, snobs, social movements, speaking up, stereotypes, working class

First-Generation Resistance in College

July 25, 2017 by Bobby Zaman Leave a Comment

Being a first generation college or graduate student is already a difficult identity to navigate at a university, but even more difficult is attempting to challenge the dominate narratives and curriculum which may lack multiple perspectives, culture awareness and/or critical analysis. As I started to voice my opinions and question the curriculum, I saw that […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class in Higher Education, Classism in Higher Education, First Generation College Students, Race and Class Tagged With: academia, education, poverty, privilege, race and class, racism, snobs, speaking up, stereotypes

What Happens When Degrees Aren’t Enough?

July 25, 2017 by Taylor Chapman 3 Comments

  Being a first generation college student often feels like being perpetually caught between two or more worlds. Many of us learn that we must weave ourselves seamlessly through poverty, familial commitments, academic demands and more in order to be successful. But what happens when code-switching and your degree don’t seem to be enough? A […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Building Economic Alternatives, Class in Higher Education, Classism in the Economy, First Generation College Students, Poverty Tagged With: academia, education, first generation college students, low-wage jobs, poverty, privilege, working class

Trump’s War on the Poor, Working-Class and …

June 29, 2017 by Class Action Leave a Comment

When explaining why his cabinet is filled with billionaires, President Donald Trump uttered what might just earn him Class Action’s 2017 Most Classist Comment of the Year Award. Mr. Trump said, “Somebody said why did you appoint a rich person to be in charge of the economy? No, it’s true. And … I said: ‘Because […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Politics, Classism in the Economy, Owning class, Politics and Class Tagged With: budget cuts, corporations, owning class, poverty, privilege, Rationalizing privilege, snobs, super-rich, tax cuts, working class

Trump’s Presidency: What We Deserve

June 29, 2017 by Gillian Mason Leave a Comment

Type “Trump voters deserve” into your search bar, and the two suggestions that pop up are “Trump voters deserve what they get” and “Trump voters deserve to lose healthcare.” To me, and I’d guess probably to you, this logic is completely unsurprising. In the Northeastern city where I live, we hear it every day – […]

Filed Under: A World Without Classism, Building Economic Alternatives, Class prejudice, Classism, Classism in Politics, Classism in the Economy, Dismantlng Classism, Health care access, Owning class, Politics and Class, Poverty Tagged With: blaming the victim, budget cuts, classism, middle class, privilege, race and class, racism, snobs, stereotypes, super-rich, tax cuts, working class

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