Project Summary

Both economic and racial justice are core progressive priorities, but too often we discuss them as if they were separate.

On the contrary, racial and economic harms are intertwined. Wealthy elites exploit racial fears to turn working people against each other and against good government; economic pain fuels racial resentment and facilitates scapegoating, including attacks on immigrants and Muslims.

Our research demonstrates how to build a truly multi-racial progressive coalition that can win a better future for people of all races. The key for cross-racial solidarity, voter engagement, and policy victories is addressing the connections between racial divisions and economic hardship. Here, for the first time, is empirical data that support tackling racism as a divide-and-conquer tactic that creates distrust, undermines belief in government, and causes economic pain for everyone, of every color.

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