During an uprising, it is unclear precisely how the end-goals—whatever they may be—will be achieved. None of this detracts from the consequences of the event unfolding in a potentially radical direction, as participants work towards building the society they hope to see.
I found that to get the same age-adjusted death rates of the black population in 2014, the white population in 2020 would have had to have at least around 400,000 excess deaths in the COVID pandemic. And in order for white life expectancy to plummet down to the best-ever level of black life expectancy would take between 700,000 and one million excess white deaths in 2020.
For Du Bois, whites embrace racism not because they are imbued by a psychological predisposition nor because they’re grasping for a shred of psychological superiority. Rather, they embrace white supremacy because the threat of job displacement—and the economic hardship that implies—drives whites to pursue their economic interests in racialized terms.
The possibilities for a new southern labor upsurge seem palpable, and opportunities for insurgent, more radical leadership are not inconceivable.
Many social scientists have worked to understand the lasting effects of the Reagan years on social inequality. Far fewer have focused on the effects of the Clinton years.
