poor white

noun

Usually Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a member of a class of white people, especially of the southern U.S., having low social status and little or no money, property, or education.

poor White

noun

1. offensive

   1. a poverty-stricken and underprivileged White person, esp in the southern US and South Africa

   2. ( as modifier )

      poor White trash

Word History and Origins

Origin of poor White¹

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20

Example Sentences

“It’s poor white voters. It’s people in small towns that don’t have much health care infrastructure…We’re going to see problems throughout the system that we haven’t experienced nearly as much in the last 60 years.”

From Salon

The Confederacy convinced millions of poor white men — most of whom never owned slaves — that they had to fight and die for the interests of the plantation elite.

From Salon

He suggested that an economic approach to affirmative action would disproportionately benefit Black people, who suffered the economic legacy of racial discrimination, and that poor white people should also be included as “a simple matter of justice.”

From Slate

Starting in the 1930s, the federal government sorted neighborhoods in 239 cities and deemed redlined areas — typically home to Black people, Jews, immigrants, and poor white people — unfit for mortgage lending.

From Salon

In addition to the error in setting, Steinbeck’s book made it seem as if the only people who were affected by the Dust Bowl were poor white farmers.

From Salon