The Great White Hope: Social Control and the Psychological Wages of Whiteness

Abstract

In the run-up to and aftermath of the 2016 US presidential election, much has been made of the so-called “white working class.” Some credit or blame this group for the election’s outcome. Others warn against treating this group as monolithic. Yet despite any difficulties in defining this group and what might be ascribed to them, there appears to be an intensification of white racial identity among a growing segment of America’s white population. This article seeks to explore the dynamics of racial identity and racial contest and what they might presage for the possibility of achieving racial justice.