The Wages of Whiteness - caring labor: an archive

222 Pages·2010·9.63 MB·English

TheW ageso fWh iteness
THE HAYMARKET SERIES
EditoMrisk:De a vainsMd i chaSeplr inker
TheH aymarSkeertio effse rosr igsitundailie nps o lihtiisctsao,nry dc ultwuirteahf, o couns
NortAhm eirc.Ra epresevniteiwanscg r otshsAe m erilceaoftnn a w idrea ngoefs ubjects,
thsee rwiieblsle o fi ntetroes sotc iabloitishntt ehsU SAa ntdh rougthhoweuo trl Ad c. entury
aftethre fi rsMtay D ayt,h Amee ricalne rfetm aiinnts h seh adooftw h ose mwahrotmty hriss
Haymarketh oSneoranridse c so mmemorTahteessse.t udtieesstt iotfy h lei vilnegg aocfy
politicalan cdao cmtmiivtimsfemorwn hti cthh egayv teh eliirv es.
A selecltioesfdtt i tflreostm h see raipepse aatrth esb acokft hibso ok.
TheW ageso fWh iteness
Racaen dt hMea kinofgt he
AmericWaonr kiCnlga ss
RevisEeddi tion
•
DAVID R . ROEDIGER
VERSO
LondoNne w York
•
1991
Firpsutb lisbhye dV erso
© 1991
DaviRd. R oediger
2007
Thiesd itipounb lisbhyVe edr so
© 2007
DaviRd. R oediger
© 2007
IntroductiKaotnh leeCnl eaver
Allr ighrtess erved
Them oral ritghheat ust hoohfra svb ee eans serted
1 537 91 08 62 4
Verso
UK: 6 MearSdtr eeLto,n doWnI F OEG
180 NY 1004-14606
USA: VariSctkr eNeetw,Y ork,
www .versosbc.ooomk
Versios ithmep rionfNt e wL eftB ooks
9781-8-4467-126-7
ISBN: (hbk)
9781-8-44671-45-8
ISBN: (pbk)
BritiLsihb rary CianPt uablloigcuDaiatintogan
A catalogue rtehcibosor odik s af volaria bfrloem t heB ritLiisbhr ary
LibroafCr oyn grCeastsa loging-iDna-tPau blication
A catalog froetrc hoibrsod o iks a vailfaorbmlt eh eL ibraorfCy o ngress
Printaenddb ounidn t heU SAb yC ouriSetro ughItnocn.
Contents
Acknowledgements VII
Prefatcoet heT hirEdd ition IX
IntroducbtyiK oant hleCelne aver XIX
PARTI I ntrodutchienWh gi teW orker
1 On AutobiograanpdhT yh eorAny :I ntroduction 3
2 TheP rehistooftry h eW hitWeo rkerS:e ttlCeotl onialism,
Racea ndR epublicabneifsom1r 8e 00 19
PARTI IR acea ndt heL anguagoefCs l asfsr omt heR evolution
tot heC iviWla r
3 'Neithae Sre rveNnotr a M asteAmr 1'K:e yworidnst he
LanguagoefWs h iteL aboRre publicanism 43
4 WhiteS laveWsa,g eS lavaensd F reWeh iteL abor 65
PARTI IWIo rk,C ultuarned"Wh itenesIsnI ndustrialAimzeirnigc a
5 ClasCso,o nasn dC rowdisn A ntebelAlmuemr ica 95
6 WhiteS kinBsl,a ck MaMsiknss:t realnsd"'y b iteW orking
ClasFso rmatiboenf otrhee C iviWla r 115
7 Irish-AmerWiocrakne rasn dWh ite RaciFaolr mation
133
inth e AntebellUunmi teSdt ates
ParIVt TheL imitosfE mancipatainodtn h eF ate
ofW orkinCgl asWsh iteness
8 EpilogAu eN:e w Lifaen dO ldH abits 167
SelecWtreidt ings 185
Index 189
v
BLANK PAGE
Acknowleemdents
g
Thisb ookc oulndo th aveb eenw rittweint hotuhte hoeflt ph el ate
GeorgRea wicTkh.e i nfluenocfhe i wsr ittweonr ko nm inew ilblec lear
atv ariopuosi sni tnt he tbeuxtet v,e mno rei mpotranwt' erteh em any
meanrdiencgo nvresiaotsnw eh adi,nw hich arnadcc els asu suafillguyre d
promnient,lb yuta londgess iprost,f amliyw,i ldlitfheel, e fta nds om uch
eles.G eorgnee vecra rewdh osied ewaesr weh ose,b utl ookibnacgk a nd
missitnhgo stea l,k ksIn owt hatthe b estw erues uahllisy.
Ingr aduasthceo oalt N orthsweternU nivetrysI,is utdide largweiltyh
SterlSituncgk eayn dG eorgFer erdickstownoo, f t hem ostp enetrating
writeonr sr acien t heU niteSdt aest.T hen,a ndm orer ectelnyt,h ey
In
prodveids upegrubi danacneds upporfto mry ownr esrecha. concep­
tualiaznidnc ga rrytihnrgo utghhip sr oejctI,h a vael sboe nefidt gereatly
fromt he advcieo fS undiaCthaa J-uaJ,a meBsar retStt,e vReons swurm,
AlexandSearx toNno,e Ilg naetvH,ie rbeHritl Mli,k eD avi,sP hiilpF oner,
ParticHku berP,au lG arno,Al YoungR, oberWtie beS,te venWa tts,
FrankRloisne moArncth,ei G reen, CMyagrya ann dE lZia rsekyt.K erby
Millre,M arkL ause tahneld ae tH enryR osemognetn erouslyr es­hared
searmcahet rilasS.u saPnor teBren sopnr ovdi ndoeto nleyn couragement
andi desb autas loa ne xampolfeh owt oc ombinceo mmitmepnrti,np clie
ands hcolarisphM.i keD avsi,S teveH iatatn dM ikeS prinhkaevrbe e en
demandianndgs upprotievdeti orRse.s eaarscsha insctfreo mB reRtotg ers
andt hee xpetrytp ionfgP atriEcgigal eshtaolnv tehde tm ie it ttooo k
writteh ibso o.k
Fundifnogrr eseaartc h tNheew berLryi braryC hicina ghoa sc ome
fromgr antfrso mt heUn ivresiotyf M issoRuersie arCcohun cainldf rom
theL loyLde wiFse llopw,ssh uipporbtyet dh eN ationEanld owmefnotr
thHeu manit.Di uersignm y yeianrr e sindceea tt hNee wbreryIb, e nefited
fromt hfrei endsahnidcp r itiocfLi soumi sWea de,a]meGsr ossmFarna,n -
Vll
THEW AGESO FW HITENESS
ciJse nninCgsh,e ryJlo hnson-OadnidRm i chaBrrdo wnT.h el ibrsatrya ff
att hNee wberwraysa m odeolfh elpfulnaesws asst, h set faa ftt hUen iver­
sityo fM isosurLii brawryh erAen neE dwarpdas ipda tricaurllpyr ompt
attentitoon moyfte nu nusuraelq uefsortd si stsaetriaonndst heses.
Opportuntiott ieesssto meo fm y ideiansp rinatn di np resentations
made thias b oldbeoro kF.o rt hosoep protuniItt iheasn tkh ee ditoorfs
New Polcis tiTheYe aLreft ,
ando f andt heh iosrtyd epartmeanttN so rth­
wetserUnn ivresiatnyd t heU niveirtsoyf C hicagtoh,eM arxiTshte ory
Semniara tt heU niverosfit thyeW esterCna pe(S outh MtrhieCc oan)­,
ferencoenW orkerSse'-l Ofrganiztahtei oPnTe,at meorn yL ecutreS eries
att heU niversoiftM yi ssoutrhieF, e lwlsoC olluoiquma tt heN ewberry
Librryaa,n dt hAem ericAasns ociaftorIi roinSs tuhd ieEss.p ecyi carlulcial
weret her emarks of JoShuns aHJnie rnstcazhn, d T oniG ilpwihne nI
presenatnee dal ryv ersioonft hirse seaartca hm eetionfgt heC hicago
LaboHri stoGryr oup.
My wifJee,a Anl lmahna,sg reya btlroademnye tdh ougahtbso urta ce
andc ladsrsa,w ionngh eorw nw orokn t hhei tsoroyfG hanaan do fS ouht
Africa. Shhaseb eetnh eb ests upporatnedkr e enecsrti toiftc h ep roejct.
My sonBsr,e ndaanndD onvoanh,a vgiev enm em uchi,n cludtihnhego ep
thatth efu turdeo enso tb elotnogw hitseu preym.aR cesponsifbori lity
anye rroorfos p inioorfn ac tt harte maiinnt htee xlite wsi tfhou r-year-old
Donovan.
DavRi.Rd o ediger
Vlll
Prefatcoet heT hirEdd ition
Historiaclyl thes kiolfcl r anoep eratiwnagso net hacto ulbdel earned
witrhe latsipveeea dn,dm anyo fth eh ookewrhsoa ssisctreadno ep er­
atowresr Afrei canA mericTahnuss.i ts eemeudn likthealtcy r anoep er­
ationw oulldo nsgu rviavsae c rajfto bp reserfvoerwd h itweo rkers.
Thati td idr emaisnu bjteocc to lobra rasc,r osstsr etocfhs epsa caen d
oft imet,e stitfiote hse b ruteaffle ctiveonfer sasc ibsyme mployers,
whitweo rkearnsdu nionTsh.u si nr eadiJnugd iStht eiRnu'sn nSitn,eg e l
RunnAimnegr miyc iant,e rqeusitc kewnheednS teidne scriWbieldl ie
PhillaiB pisr,m ingshtaeme lwowrhkowe ars t augthotr una c ranbey
aw hitceo workaetthr e heigohftt erroorpipsots ittiooth ne c ivirli ghts
movemeinntt hacti tTyh.e a ccoulnetftm anyf ascinaqtuiensgti ons
unansweirnecdl,u djiunswgth yP hillqiupisc kglayvue p h iosp erator's
jobI.t urneeadg ertlothy e endnotreesa,dt yofi ndth e souracnedt o
reamdo rea bouPth illriepmsa'rsk aebxlpee riebnuctge osta,s urprise.
TherPeh illwiapssn b'utt,t herIwe a sN.o citatiloentd o a nyw ritten
oro raslo urocneP hillIinpsst.eo afld e arniwnhge rteofi ndo uta bout
himI,l earneadb outhte i nadequoafct ihebeso oyko uh olTdh.e n ote
readde,s pithtee f actth aTth Wea goefWhs i tencoenscser anw ehdo lly
differceennttu rfryo mt heo nei nw hicWhi llPihei llliipvse d:
TheP hilliinpcsi dreenvte caolnsc rethtaettl hyeb ehavoifow rh itset eel­
workecrasn nboete xplainbeydth e conceopft' whietse'snWh .atever
theiidre olobgieclasila e bfourta cset,e elwoproksesresso stehided re tahsa t
explatihne bierh aviTohres .h eedri verosfri etys podnesmeo nstrathtaets
the ideoloagpipcraolat coth h es tudoyfw hitweo rkebresgu nb yD avid
Roedigienhr i sW ageso fWhi tses.n. ec annaoctc oufnortt heb ehavior
.
reveahleerdme u,c hl esfsort heh istoofrt yh eA mericwaonr kingc lass.1
IX
THE WAGES OFW HITENESS
ThWea gefWhs i teness
o hast urnedu p,i nt hefi fteeyne ars siitnsc e
publicaitinoa nls,lo rtso fu nexpectpelda caensd,h asb eemna ligned,
inflatpeudn,c turaenddp, r aisienfud l luyn expectweady sN.o tl ong
afteirta ppearaendh ,i storsicaanr coelldyet rh aInt oomke a siadtea
receptiionan c onferehnocteet loa ska fatherly quesytiooun : 'Aren't
afraiodfa iring ladbiorlrta'yus n dirnpy u bliIctw? a'st hetnh aItkn ew
thatth eb ook- upt ot hapto inetn joyinagna lmost eeeurpihloyr ic
receptioofpn r izaensdfl atterrienvgi e-wwso uledv entubaelr leyc eived
ast hec ontroverwsoirakil th ads eotu tt ob e.M y respontsote h e
questimoand es ensien sofaasi rtw entb,u tr eflectheodwl itIth laed
think ThWea gfeWh si teness
beemna det o throupgohs sicbrlieti ciosfm s o
att hapto inTth.er espoanlsseio l lustrtahteee xdt etnowt h icIhm yself
hadn otl earnesdo meo ft hel essotnhseb ooktr iteodt eacIht .o ltdh e
questioonfet rh es anitizeiffnegc otfsb ringthiinngg isn tloi gahntd o f
the valuoeft hel abomro vemesnpte akifrnagn kltyo i tse-lfaf amro re
importaacntitvi thtya n' speatrukithn gt op owerth,a'td eepqluye stionable
practiwceeh easroe nthusiastipcraelslsy- agIetwn atseh adr.d ploys sible,
Ia lshoe ldt,ob uiladn ewm ovemenwti thocuotm intgot ermwsi th
thew ayisn w hicthh ep asbte arosnt hep resent.
Bute vehna vijnugs wtr itteanb ookd evotteods howitnhgec osts
ofn otq uestiontihnepg e culiaorfti htewy h ite woorfka esrs,u ming
thastu cahw orkecro ulsdt anidnf or' labwoirt'h omueta surtihneg
disfiguriimnpga ocfta c ommitmenttow hitenoensw so rkesrtsr'u g­
gleist,t ootikm ef orm e ton oticteh atth ed irtlya undry question
madel aboirn twoh itlea boTrh.u st heq uestaisosnu mtehda fta lling
sileonnth istoroifre asc ieaxlc luspiroont ecttheerd e putatiaonnd
thei nteroefsl tasb oarsw holWeo.r kerosfc olor, historically forced
byc olobra rlsi mittihnegie rm ploymeinnttl oi terdaolilny'g d irty
laundrdyi,s'a ppeianrt ehdev erwya yt hatth ep roblweams fr amed.
ThWea gfeWh si teness
o repeatedly ackintopswr loefdoguendd debt
toW .E.BD.u Boiwsh,o sied eoafa ' whibtlei ndsnpaomte'pd r ecisely
thew ayin whicthh ei nteroefss tosm ew hitceasnp osa'set heg eneral
interBeusttt .h asta meb lindslpeodmt e tos uppoisnet hes ubtitle
Wages
to thatth eh istohroyw,e vcerri tiocftha el w,h itweo rketrh at
ito fferecdo ulsdo mehocwh artth em akingo ft he' Ameriwcoarnk ing
clasgse'n eraMlyl yo.w nl ingerwihnigtb el indsaplostlo e dm e to
respond twoiomt uhc hh esitaanncdyt ,o om uchc iviltiott yh,e
questiocnoenrj'usr uipnt gh ei magoef d irltayu ndry.
As itt urnso utm,y concernrse gardtihneog d da bsenocfse h arply
ThWea goeWhfsi teness
critiecaarlrl eys pontsoe s woulbde m oret han
x