From the Zoot Suit Riots to the Decline of the American Middle Class examines the relationship between race, labor, prosperity, and political power across decades of American history. Beginning with the violence against Mexican American youths in Los Angeles during the 1940s, the book explores how discrimination, biased institutions, and unequal opportunities shaped the lives of working-class communities.
The book follows the nation from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal through the postwar expansion of unions and the middle class. It considers how better wages, worker protections, public investment, and access to education helped millions of families achieve greater economic security—while racial and ethnic minorities were often denied equal access to those opportunities.
Armando Oscar Olmos and Maria Teresa Zambrano Rivera then examine the political and economic changes of the Reagan era, including weakened unions, tax policies favoring the wealthy, lost industrial jobs, and growing inequality. Combining history with a working-class perspective, this book shows how racial injustice and economic policy contributed to the decline of the American middle class.