Understanding Racism Sexism Heterosexism and Class Privilege.

1. z Understanding
Racism, Sexism,
Heterosexism, and
Class Privilege
Part II Cont.

2. z
Wealth Inequality in the U.S.
 How is the country's wealth divide among the population?
 The Working Poor in Dallas

3. z
Classes in the United States
 Upper Class
 1% of the population – Top 10
 Usually inherited wealth (or “Old Money”)
 Salaries are not the primary source of income.
 Most have attended college, usually at some of the most
prestigious educational institutions
 New Money - makes up about 15 percent of the population;
includes people whose wealth has been around only for a
generation or two.

4. z
Classes in the United States
 Middle Class
 34% of the population.
 Work professional jobs.
 Have college degrees or at least some college education.
 Tend to be managers, doctors, lawyers, professors, and
teachers. They are often referred to as the White-Collar
Class.

5. z
Classes in the United States
 Working Class
 30% of the population.
 May have gone to college, but more have had vocational or technical
training.
 Jobs include electrician, carpenter, factory worker, truck driver, police officer
– Blue Collar Class
 More likely to be members of unions than are people in the middle class.
 Standards of living are similar but not identical to middle class. Values,
behaviors and voting trends differ

6. z
Classes in the United States
 Poor & Working Poor
 20 percent of the population
 Low educational level and not highly skilled
 Work at minimum-wage jobs, often working two jobs without health
insurance or benefits. No job security
 Live near or below the Poverty Line
 Poverty Facts

7. z

8. z

9. z Class in America
 Reality #1
 1/3 of the U.S. of the American population is living at one
extreme or the other, it is difficult to argue that we live in a
classless society.
 Reality #2
 The middle class in the United States holds a very small share
of the nation’s wealth and that share has declined steadily
 The income gap between the very rich (1%) and everyone else (99%)
more than tripled over the past 3 decades – the largest concentration of
income since 1928*

10. z Class in America
 Reality #3
 Middle and Lower income earners share a tiny portion of
the nation’s wealth
 80% of the population (4 out of every 5 Americans) shares 10%
of the nation’s wealth

11. z
Class in America
 Reality #4
 Lower-class standing is correlated with higher rates of
infant mortality, eye and ear disease, arthritis, physical
disabilities, diabetes, nutritional deficiency, respiratory
disease, mental illness, and heart disease
 What could be the causes of this?
 Lower-class has more difficulty securing housing, spend greater
portion of income to pay for food, health care and other basic
necessities
 Lower-class also has greater likelihood to end up a victim of crime

12. z
Class in America
 Reality #5
 Class standing accurately predicts chances for survival,
educational achievement, and economic success
 Students with higher social status have a higher probability
that he or she will get higher grades
 Class mobility is rare and evidence shows “striking it rich” is
unlikely to happen

13. z
Class in America
 Reality #6
 Class mobility in the United States is lower than the rest of the
industrialized world
 Benefits of a prosperous economy often go to the wealthy
 Wages “may” increase
 Economic downshift spread between classes – layoffs hit
both middle and lower class

14. z
Class in America
 Reality #7
 Inequality in the United States is persistent in good times and
bad times
 Reality #8
 The privileges that accrue to the wealthy are tied to the worlds
of capital and finance
 Capitalists (Corporations) and Wall Street (the banks) often benefit from
the misfortune, abuse and exploitation of the lower classes worldwide

15. z
Class in America
 Reality #9
 Wealth and Power are closely linked
 Class Structure in the U.S. based on Capitalism
 Businesses are concerned with making profit and not with
meeting the needs of society
 Wealth brings about political power which ensures they
will continue to gain from policies that benefit the rich

16. z
Class in America
 Reality #10
 Racism and sexism significantly compound the effects of class
in society
 Issue of race and gender cut across class lines
 Opportunities presented are limited based on race, gender, and class
 Women who are poor and black are often subjected to all forces of class,
race, and gender discrimination simultaneously

17. z
Class in America
Chances of Being Poor in America
White male/
female
White
female
head of
household
Hispanic
Male/female
Hispanic
female head
of
household
Black
male/
female
Black
female
head of
household
1 in 11 1 in 5 1 in 5 1 in 3 1 in 5 1 in 3

18. z
White Privilege
 White Privilege. The benefits, advantages, and opportunities
available to people who are identified as white; these
privileges can be economic, cultural, social, psychological, etc.
 How White Privilege works

19. z
White Privilege
 In what ways does White Privilege manifests itself today?
 The Privilege Test
 White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
 Do all whites benefit from White Privilege?
 Do all whites benefit equally from White Privilege?