At the time of my enrollment in undergraduate classes in 2007, I was in my 23rd year of employment as a resident manager of a small horse farm. I had been working alongside men and women of disadvantaged ethnic groups for thirty years, virtually engaging in a prolonged participant observation of the American labor class. While I had achieved a position of moderate comfort, I remained in the lowest fifth of income strata, uninsured and lacking any real material assets. From this vantage point, I was able to develop a profound appreciation for the challenges working-class and minority people face, and I observed not only overt racism from an upper class that considered me part of their in-group (when it suited them), but also the subtle racism of white privilege that transcends class lines.