As the authors of the classic Southern Politics pointed out nearly 60 years ago, racial resentment and fear have been used effectively by elites to disguise the impact of class in the supposedly classless society in the U.S.  The founding elites -- almost exclusively white and male -- were mostly landowners whose prosperity was based on slavery AND the exploitation of white labour.  When the politics of race and class come together, the mix can be explosive.  The divide and conquer strategy has worked quite well, to the detriment of racialized minorities and exploited classes.