Race Rebels: Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class

Race Rebels: Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class is a 1994 non-fiction book by American writer Robin D. G. Kelley. The book, a cohesive adaptation of several articles previously published by Kelley, concerns the impact made by black members of the American working class on American politics and culture. Kelley's work does not focus solely on race, but considers the compound impact of race, class and gender. 2007's Blue-chip Black: Race, Class and Status in the New Black Middle Class draws from Kelley's text as an example of this focus the influence exercised by working class black bus riders in Birmingham, Alabama on segregation during World War II, an analysis described in 2003's Multiculturalism, Postcoloniality, and Transnational Media as "fascinating." Inspired by a concept put forward by political anthropologist James C. Scott, Kelley utilizes the concept of "infrapolitics" in exploring the political impact of confrontation between black Americans and white Americans, examining what Scott described as "the circumspect struggle waged daily by subordinate groups [which] is, like infrared rays, beyond the visible end of the spectrum." Summary Kelley examines the methods of resistance adopted by black working class as well as the spaces where black working class congregated to form an emerging consciousness. Utilizing the theory of historian George Rawick that the only way to detect working-class resistance from the past is to have knowledge of the amount of damage caused to the employer by the employees, Kelley documents the organized and unorganized ways black workers expressed resentment for racist treatment, including slowdowns, theft, leaving work early, quitting, and various acts of sabotage. He also looks in depth at black resistance that took place in public space, namely Birmingham’s streetcars and buses during World War II. In spite of strict controls by mostly white American bus operators, black working-class riders had no other transportation options and offered fierce resistance—not just in publicly celebrated incidents of heroism of individuals such as Rosa Parks and Ida B. Wells-Barnett, but in every-day conflicts such as arguments and fights with authorities and other riders.