Introduction

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Introduction: Caviar, College, Coupons, and Cheese 1
4. Part I. Poor and Low Income
5. Introduction 13
6. Cleaning Up the Trash 17
7. North American Peasant 22
8. I Work with Worn-Out Tools 29
9. Mexican Girl from Fontana 32
10. What They Say about Poor Girls 38
11. Better Than 43
12. No Yellow Tickets 48
13. Part II. Working Class
14. Reflections 53
15. Those of Us from Rio Linda 59
16. The Cost of Passing 62
17. The Floors of the Met 67
18. Washroom Class Politics 72
19. Artichokes 75
20. Here’s How to Drive the Poor Crazy 81
21. Red Datsun Security 89
22. Working Class and College
23. A Box from My Grandfather 92
24. Vacuum Cleaner Truth 96
25. I Am Working Class 100
26. Hitting the Academic Class Ceiling 105
27. Blue-Collar Heart, Ivy League World 108
28. Between Scarcity and Plenty 113
29. A Nuyorican’s Journey to Higher Education 117
30. My Parents’ Hands Are on My Back 124
31. Part III. Middle Class
32. Introduction 127
33. “Better Be Street” 129
34. It’s Who You Know and How You Talk 133
35. Childhood Friendship 139
36. Finding Myself in the Middle 142
37. A Privileged Path in a Class-Shattered World 146
38. Oreo? A Black American Experience 150
39. Class Is Always with Us 156
40. Part IV. Owning Class
41. Introduction 161
42. Born on Third Base 165
43. Money Was Never a Worry 172
44. The Women Who Cared for My Grandparents 178
45. What Was It Like Growing Up Owning-Class? 181
46. A Day of Traveling across the Class Spectrum 185
47. Social Capital 188
48. Part V. Mixed Class
49. Introduction 191
50. Coming Clean 193
51. Ferragamos 198
52. Girl Scout Green 202
53. Living beyond Class 206
54. Afterword: The Power of Story 211
55. About the Contributors 215
56. Resources 227
57. About Class Action 229