The Wages of Whiteness

Geographies of race and ethnicity II

“…Recent research reveals the economic contributions of slavery to the US economy and infrastructure, as well as the extreme violence necessary to maintain such a system (Baptist, 2014;Johnson, 2013;Wilder, 2013; for a critique, see Hudson, 2016). Upon slavery's conclusion, numerous legal and de jure forms of labor discrimination and exploitation limited the life chances of nonwhite workers while boosting the opportunities and status of white ones (Roediger, 1991). Dualwage systems, racially-exclusive labor unions, racialized divisions of labor, share-cropping, and related practices ensured a vulnerable supply of low-wage workers (Barrera, 1979;Saxton, 1995;Almaguer, 1994;Kelley, 1990;Woods, 1998).…”

Intersectional Differences in Segmented Assimilation: Skill and Gender in the Context of Reception

“…In a society where race matters, immigrants of today are unable to shed their "racial uniform" as quickly or as easily as yesterday's Southern, Central, and Eastern European immigrants were allowed to shed theirs (Alba and Nee 2003;Roediger 1991). Additionally, economic restructuring has produced an "hourglass economy," characterized by a growing low-skilled service sector, a shrinking (durable goods) manufacturing sector, and a competitive high-skilled, technology and professional service sector.…”

Tropics of whiteness: metaphor and the literary turn in white studies

“…In other words, there is a tendency to congeal whiteness into an essence. Whether we go with Mills' (1997) philosophy of the global racial contract that divides white supremacy into three periods, Roediger's (1991) history of the induction of different ethnic groups into white raciality, or Lopez's (2006) legal hermeneutics of whiteness as defined by the courts either through common sense or scientific discourse, a consistent picture arises despite the variation; whiteness is a singular phenomenon created for the purposes of maintaining social hierarchy. In fact, Lopez acquiesces that whiteness may take on many forms but they all lead to the stubborn outcome of racial supremacy.…”