STUFF YOU CAN DO ABOUT CLASSISM

Educate Yourself

Read books and articles such as the ones in the bibliography.

Read newspapers, magazines or journals such as "Dollars and Sense," "In These Times," or "Z magazine" that feature a different perspective on
the economy.

If you're not low-income, go through a whole day imagining yourself to be poor or homeless.

Take courses /workshops, such as ones by the Center for Popular Economics to learn more about class/classism.

Listen to and learn from poor and working-class people.

Visit agencies or organizations that work for the needs of poor and working class people.

Examine your reactions to people and work on eliminating classist stereotypes in yourself.

Do you make assumptions about people's intelligence based on their appearance? If so, question yourself.

If you view "nice" as always a positive trait and "angry" as always a negative trait, question these assumptions.
Use Your Dollars and Resources to Make a Difference

If you have money to invest, invest it in socially responsible ways. These can include investing in community loan funds (find one in your area
by contacting the National Association of Community Development Loan Funds); banks that invest in local communities (e.g. Community
Capital Bank or South Shore Bank); or in socially responsible stocks, mutual funds, money market funds, etc. (contact The Social Investment
Forum to get information about socially conscious financial professionals and institutions).

If you have excess money, give some money away. Give to groups working to make structural change and groups run by low-income people,
not just to charity. The Funding Exchange is a national network of alternative foundations committed to funding progressive grassroots
organizing both locally and nationally.

Buy from worker-owned cooperative businesses and Coops (e.g. Coop America or Pueblo to People).

Buy from small, family-owned businesses instead of giant chains like WalMart, or Staples.

Refrain from purchasing boycotted products when workers call for support, such as in the case of farm workers and grapes, or Campbell soup
during the FLOC strike; write manufacturers and let them know why you are boycotting. You can find out about current boycotts in "Building
Economic Alternatives", the newsletter of Coop America.

Buy products from companies that have policies that you support; you can locate such companies in Shopping for a Better World: A Quick and
Easy Guide to Socially Responsible Supermarket Shopping.

Don't cross workers' picket lines, even if it's inconvenient or this means spending a few extra dollars.

Celebrate holidays and special occasions by donating to groups or organizations fighting classism in honor of someone, instead of buying more
stuff that is really not needed.

If you sell property, don't personally profit from "social appreciation" (changes in the neighborhood or the housing market). Only accept price
increases that result from overall inflation or improvements you made, or sell at market value but give the social appreciation away to an
affordable housing group.
Live Simply, So That Others May Simply Live.

Use resources like food, water, land, paper, energy wisely, as they are limited. Consult Taking Charge of Our Lives: Living Responsibly in the
World, for concrete ideas.

Recycle as much as possible.

Think responsibly about money, question patterns of consumption or collecting of status symbols for status' sake.

Think about sharing or co-owning items you only need periodically with friends and neighbors, e.g. a lawn mower subscriptions to magazines,
etc.

Use and support public institutions and facilities such as libraries, museums, parks, buses, or subways.

Give things to shelters or thrift shops rather than throwing them out.
Model Non-Classist Behavior and Attitudes

Take pride in your class background.

Make friends with and get close to people from different classes; build cross-class relationships.

Don't make assumptions about others' class situations.

Listen to and respect people, no matter what accent, education, vocabulary, or ability to articulate they may possess.

Don't assume that formal education is more important than experience; re-think these "professional" attitudes.

Keep confidential information you have about others' class situations; let them decide with whom and when to share this information.

If you come from a more privileged background, do your fair share of the maintenance work; don't make messes and expect others to clean them
up because you are doing the "important intellectual" work.

If you mostly do manual work, encourage yourself to consider your ideas valuable and speak up.

If you come from a more privileged background, don't hide or deny it; don't pretend you don't have privilege.

Don't say "I'm broke," or "I'm starving," if actually you just have a cash flow shortage or a delay in your meal.

Look people in the eye and remember and acknowledge their humanity, especially people in service roles like cafeteria servers, bus drivers,
bank tellers, waiters, receptionists, bell hops, etc.

Practice communicating your ideas in language known to people who are not college educated, without using jargon, to make your speech more
accessible to people without formal education.

Consider changing language that might be classist, e.g. "classy," or "shit work."

Break the silence: disclose your class background and your financial situation more often.
Create an Inclusive Culture and Welcoming Environment

Assume that everywhere there are people who come from poor and Working class backgrounds; provide safety by making it clear you accept
and support poor and working-class people. Remember there is a middle class assumption', so be consciously inclusive.

Don't make assumptions about what people can afford; If you are making a suggestion about a restaurant or event, ask if that price range feels
OK to everyone. If you are organizing an event set up sliding scale fees (in which people pay by their income).

Remember to include a range of occupations or class lifestyles in examples that you give when you speak, write, or put up displays.

Find out about and share resources and information on poor and working-class supportive service providers, events, restaurants, bars, etc.

Say the words poor, working class, owning class out loud; break the silence about class.

Promote less hierarchical workplace or classroom structures in which all workers or students have a say.
Educate Others and Interrupt Classism

Sponsor a workshop on classism or films like "Salt of the Earth," "Breaking Away," "Grapes of Wrath," etc. for groups/ organizations to which
you belong.

-Set up bulletin board displays on poor and working-class people's issues /culture.

Have informal discussions with friends, co-workers, classmates, and family about class issues.

Offer alternatives or accurate information when you hear classist stereotypes or myths, e.g. welfare-bashing.

Write articles for local papers on poor and working-class issues; write letters to the editor; critically review local media for classist bias and
call/write editors with complaints/ suggestions.

Interrupt classist jokes, slurs, comments, or assumptions.

Take a Public Stand

Attend rally or march supporting poor or working-class people's issues.

Sign a petition supporting welfare rights or tax equity reform.

Campaign to pass legislation that is anti-classist, e.g. campaign finance reform.

Join an organization that promotes economic justice, e.g. "United for a Fair Economy

Support political struggles of poor or working-class people for access to better: housing, jobs, transportation, legal assistance, access to
education, food, home energy, and quality healthcare.

Betsy Leondar-Wright and Felice Yeskel, Ed.D.