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White Poverty and Racial Myths in America
Author and social justice advocate Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove delivers a thought-provoking lecture during Black History Month
University News | February 13, 2025
What if everything we’ve been told about poverty in America is wrong? What if the real divide isn’t between Black and white, but between the haves and the have-nots—who’ve been pitted against each other for generations?
In honor of Black History Month, Virginia Wesleyan University’s Robert Nusbaum Center hosted acclaimed author and social justice advocate Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, who presented a thought-provoking lecture on his latest book, “White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy.”
Wilson-Hartgrove, assistant director for partnerships and fellowships at Yale University’s Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, co-authored the book with the Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, a nationally recognized advocate for the poor and a leader of the modern Poor People’s Campaign. Together, they challenged entrenched misconceptions about race and class and call for a moral fusion movement that unites poor and working-class Americans across racial divides.
Wilson-Hartgrove is a leader in the Red Letter Christian movement and the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. He is also a preacher and community builder who speaks often about spirituality, community, and faith in public life.
During his presentation to a full house in Brock Commons, Wilson-Hartgrove explored how historical narratives have pitted poor white and Black Americans against each other, preventing them from recognizing their shared economic struggles. He contended that dismantling these myths is essential to forging a new coalition for social and economic justice—one that acknowledges that poverty is not just a racial issue, but a systemic failure affecting millions of Americans regardless of skin color. He explained how white poverty has been ignored, misrepresented, and weaponized to divide Americans for centuries.
“Poverty is a crisis in this country; it’s hidden in plain sight,” he noted. “Eight hundred people a day die from poverty-related issues in this country, but we don’t call it an epidemic. We don’t see poverty for the crisis it is because we’ve racialized it.”
Drawing on history, politics, and personal stories, he examined how poor white families have been left with little more than their racial identity to cope in an economy of rising costs and stagnant wages. Wilson-Hargrove invited attendees to stand and join him in singing the song of the freedom movement — building community and encouraging action.
“When everyone does better, everyone does better,” he said, quoting the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. “It’s possible to build coalitions that have the power to change the conversation.”
Learn more about the Robert Nusbaum Center at VWU.