Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland

In August of 2017, Metzl interviewed a Kansas principal before the start of the new school year. The principal discusses his plans for the upcoming year and the school’s future, but the “mood shifts” when Metzl brings up politics. Kansas had a vibrant public school system which the citizens were proud of, but the state has since defunded them, and the principal now spends most of his time shuffling money around, trying to cover spending gaps.

Metzl describes Kansas as “a state awash in nostalgia” (193), perhaps because of the “Oz effect,” or narratives describing a new appreciation for home once the resident leaves. Even Metzl, who grew up in Kansas City, is consumed by the “Kansas nostalgia.” At a certain point in Metzl’s childhood, he and his family moved to the Missouri side of Kansas City. They lived just two blocks from the road that divided Kansas from Missouri, yet he describes a marked difference between the two states. The Missouri side of the road was “unkempt,” while the Kansas side was “cleaner” and better maintained.

As a child, Metzl describes watching friends move to the Kansas side of the city to attend the state’s schools, which were known for “excellent teachers, small class sizes, advanced curricula, and strong track records placing students into colleges” (194).