--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whatever appeals to the white working…" description: "\"“Whatever appeals to the white working class is ennobled. What appeals to black workers, and all others outside the tribe, is dastardly identitarianism..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/ta-nehisi-coates-733_identity-politics_whatever-appeals-to-the-white-working-cl_3180749.png" --- # Whatever appeals to the white working class is ennobled… ![“Whatever appeals to the white working class is ennobled. What appeals to black workers, and all others outside the tribe, is dastardly identitarianism. All politics are identity politics - except the politics of white people, the politics of the blood heirloom.” quote by Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/ta-nehisi-coates-733_identity-politics_whatever-appeals-to-the-white-working-cl_3180749.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/ta-nehisi-coates-733_identity-politics_whatever-appeals-to-the-white-working-cl_3180749.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2af/ta-nehisi-coates-733_identity-politics_whatever-appeals-to-the-white-working-cl_3180749.png) > ““Whatever appeals to the white working class is ennobled. What appeals to black workers, and all others outside the tribe, is dastardly identitarianism. All politics are identity politics - except the politics of white people, the politics of the blood heirloom.”” [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Identity politics dominate, but white identity is often exempt, creating a double standard in political discourse. **In simple terms:** White identity is treated differently in politics, creating inequality. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge unequal treatment of identities. Themes identity politics race inequality double standard Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical controversial When to use this quote - public policy debates - academic discussions - media analysis - grassroots activism Key Concepts social theory critical race theory political philosophy media studies Questions to Reflect On - How can inclusive politics address all identities? - What are the risks of labeling all politics as identity‑based? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex political motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Identity politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-politics/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) [Working class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/) ## Related quotes > [“The politics of identity is nothing new, certainly on the American right. What was astonishing during the Reagan Dispensation was the development of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/the-politics-of-identity-is-nothing-new-certainly-on-the-american/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [The demand for racial (and sexual) justice gets reduced to politics of identity - and excoriating the so-called perpetrators of the identity politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/the-demand-for-racial-and-sexual-justice-gets-reduced-to-politics-of/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [“A woman of color formation might decide to work around immigration issues. This political commitment is not based on the specific histories of racialized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/a-woman-of-color-formation-might-decide-to-work-around-immigration/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [The issue of the American justice system is so much broader than any one party, or any area of the country, or any one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/the-issue-of-the-american-justice-system-is-so-much-broader-than-any/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [The degree to which I try to be honest that there's some Donald Trump in all of us. The seduction of the promise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/the-degree-to-which-i-try-to-be-honest-that-there-s-some-donald-trump/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [One of the things that we've got to understand... is that politics of identity has never gone away. And where people have had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cleverly/one-of-the-things-that-we-ve-got-to-understand-is-that-politics-of/) [James Cleverly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cleverly/) > [The politics of identity, cancellation, and mob rule are not acceptable to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cameron/the-politics-of-identity-cancellation-and-mob-rule-are-not-acceptable/) [Daniel Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cameron/) > [I'm not naive. All politics is about identity, right? Neighborhood politics, cultural politics, issue politics. It's not as though I don't get that. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayanna-pressley/i-m-not-naive-all-politics-is-about-identity-right-neighborhood/) [Ayanna Pressley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayanna-pressley/) > [Islamist groups have gained influence at local and national level by playing the politics of identity and demanding for Muslims the 'right to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munira-mirza/islamist-groups-have-gained-influence-at-local-and-national-level-by/) [Munira Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munira-mirza/) > [“Indeed, the panic of white slavery lives on in our politics today. Black workers suffer, something in nature has gone awry. And so an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/indeed-the-panic-of-white-slavery-lives-on-in-our-politics-today/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“The focus on one sector of Trump voters—the white working class—is puzzling, given the breadth of his white coalition. Indeed, there is a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-focus-on-one-sector-of-trump-voters-the-white-working-class-is/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [I think that the moment we're living in offers the best opportunity we've had in a long time in that a lot of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-think-that-the-moment-we-re-living-in-offers-the-best-opportunity/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [When the media and even people within our own party treat minorities as a single voting block, it is a shocking display of identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslyn-lewis/when-the-media-and-even-people-within-our-own-party-treat-minorities/) [Leslyn Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslyn-lewis/) > [It's interesting how identity politics and Ann Coulter-style tactics have now blossomed. But they were always there in CPAC.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/it-s-interesting-how-identity-politics-and-ann-coulter-style-tactics/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Ta-Nehisi Coates > [“To Trump whiteness is neither notional nor symbolic but is the very core of his power. In this, Trump is not singular. But whereas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/to-trump-whiteness-is-neither-notional-nor-symbolic-but-is-the-very/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“The focus on one sector of Trump voters—the white working class—is puzzling, given the breadth of his white coalition. Indeed, there is a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-focus-on-one-sector-of-trump-voters-the-white-working-class-is/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from hosts and myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-greatest-reward-of-this-constant-interrogation-confrontation-with/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [What I am telling you is that you do not need to know to love, and it is right that you feel it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-i-am-telling-you-is-that-you-do-not-need-to-know-to-love-and-it/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [I think 'Dear White People,' the show, is a tremendous artistic achievement. It's always hinting that there is something beyond the pleading and wokeness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-think-dear-white-people-the-show-is-a-tremendous-artistic/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [ \[Winning the White House was an achievement\], but as an African-American, \[Barack Obama\], I think the symbolism is in how he conducted himself. The… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/winning-the-white-house-was-an-achievement-but-as-an-african-american/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [What sets black people apart is not some deficit in personal responsibility. It's the weight on our shoulders. That is what's actually different. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-sets-black-people-apart-is-not-some-deficit-in-personal/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Like a lot of people, I'm very, very concerned about Senator Clinton's record. I'm very, very concerned about where her positions were in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/like-a-lot-of-people-i-m-very-very-concerned-about-senator-clinton-s/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“I drove away, as always, thinking of you. I do not believe that we can stop them, Samori, because they must ultimately stop themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-drove-away-as-always-thinking-of-you-i-do-not-believe-that-we-can/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [What I’m talking about is more than recompense for past injustices—more than a handout, a payoff, hush money, or a reluctant bribe. What I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/what-i-m-talking-about-is-more-than-recompense-for-past-injustices/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [The mainstream sort of presentation of the civil rights movement was not something that I directly inherited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-mainstream-sort-of-presentation-of-the-civil-rights-movement-was/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [ \[Grew up in Hawaii\] that gave \[Barack Obama\] a kind of optimism, an ability to see things, you know, and frankly, an ability to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/grew-up-in-hawaii-that-gave-barack-obama-a-kind-of-optimism-an/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“I sensed the schools were hiding something, drugging us with false morality so that we would not see, so that we did not ask:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/i-sensed-the-schools-were-hiding-something-drugging-us-with-false/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [You don't make a case for reparations thinking, 'Oh yeah, people are gonna love this.' I didn't see that coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/you-don-t-make-a-case-for-reparations-thinking-oh-yeah-people-are/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“And I know that there are black boys and black girls out there lost in a Bermuda triangle of the mind or stranded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/and-i-know-that-there-are-black-boys-and-black-girls-out-there-lost/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) [Explore all 388 Ta-Nehisi Coates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) ## More Identity politics quotes > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It's interesting how identity politics and Ann Coulter-style tactics have now blossomed. But they were always there in CPAC.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/it-s-interesting-how-identity-politics-and-ann-coulter-style-tactics/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [When the media and even people within our own party treat minorities as a single voting block, it is a shocking display of identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslyn-lewis/when-the-media-and-even-people-within-our-own-party-treat-minorities/) [Leslyn Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslyn-lewis/) > [I think that the moment we're living in offers the best opportunity we've had in a long time in that a lot of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-think-that-the-moment-we-re-living-in-offers-the-best-opportunity/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [Identity politics preaches a splintering of one large, collaborative group into competing vindictive ones - resulting in new, angry tribes whose central thesis is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/identity-politics-preaches-a-splintering-of-one-large-collaborative/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [“learned two things from the students. One was that they disliked identity politics. They thought that Hillary spent too much time trying to appeal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-brazile/learned-two-things-from-the-students-one-was-that-they-disliked/) [Donna Brazile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-brazile/) > [People think that we're engaged with identity politics. The truth is that we're doing what the labor movement has always done - organizing people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-garza/people-think-that-we-re-engaged-with-identity-politics-the-truth-is/) [Alicia Garza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-garza/) > [“The primacy of class in politics was challenged during the 1970s and 1980s, in particular, by the rise of the 'new social movements' (including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moya-lloyd/the-primacy-of-class-in-politics-was-challenged-during-the-1970s-and/) Moya Lloyd > [Identity politics divides us; fiction connects. One is interested in sweeping generalizations, the other in nuances. One draws boundaries, the other recognizes no frontiers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/identity-politics-divides-us-fiction-connects-one-is-interested-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [History is of all subjects the one which is most engaged with people's perceptions of themselves, identity, politics, all those things which shape the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwasi-kwarteng/history-is-of-all-subjects-the-one-which-is-most-engaged-with-people/) [Kwasi Kwarteng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwasi-kwarteng/) > [Writers in the nineteenth century - people like George Eliot and Flaubert - were accustomed to addressing particular communities with which they shared not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/writers-in-the-nineteenth-century-people-like-george-eliot-and/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [To challenge the dominance of identity politics, we need to champion an alternative universalist approach. This wouldn't mean bland similarity, with everybody talking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munira-mirza/to-challenge-the-dominance-of-identity-politics-we-need-to-champion/) [Munira Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munira-mirza/) > [“From a raw political standpoint, Trump’s decision to adopt a set of views that offended and alienated minority voters, ugly though it was, turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/from-a-raw-political-standpoint-trump-s-decision-to-adopt-a-set-of/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [“For years, I declined to fill in the form for my Senate press credential that asked me to state my 'race,' unless I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/for-years-i-declined-to-fill-in-the-form-for-my-senate-press/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Who are theologians? What kind of self-identity could or should a theologian claim? Should a theologian be a defender or transmitter of Christian \_tradition\_?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/namsoon-kang/who-are-theologians-what-kind-of-self-identity-could-or-should-a/) [Namsoon Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/namsoon-kang/) [Browse all 124 Identity politics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-politics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Whatever appeals to the white working class is ennobled. What appeals to black workers, and all others outside the tribe, is dastardly identitarianism. 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