The Price of Progressive Politics

Through the voices of women activists in the welfare rights

movement across the United States, The Price of Progressive

Politics exposes the contemporary reality of welfare rights

politics, revealing how the language of colorblind racism undermines

this multiracial movement. Through in-depth interviews

with activists in eight organizations across the United

States, Rose Ernst presents an intersectional analysis of how

these activists understand the complexities of race, class

and gender and how such understandings have affected

their approach to their grassroots work. Engaging and accessible,

The Price of Progressive Politics offers a refreshing

examination of how those working for change grapple with

shifting racial dynamics in the United States, arguing that

organizations that fail to develop a consciousness that reflects

the reality of multiple marginalized identities ultimately

reproduce the societal dynamics they seek to change.