There was a lot of discussion this weekend about how Democratic presidential candidate and socialist superstar Bernie Sanders needs to include structural racism in his campaign, which has so far focused like a laser beam on economic justice. He is also seen by some as not really down with black Americans, and his "standoff with #BlackLivesMatter" at the Netroots Nation conference in Phoenix did nothing to contradict this perception. Then there was the Twitter hashtag #BernieSoBlack, which resulted from a confrontation between a Sanders supporter and a black activist. It trended like nobody's business on Sunday.

But let's get this straight: If Bernie Sanders wins the Dem ticket, blacks will vote for him. His economic program is far better for them than, say, Jeb!'s. So, why should Sanders be concerned about race? Not for black people, but because of white people. Racism, which is first and foremost a white problem, has done damage not just to the lives of blacks but to all members of the working class and large sections of the middle class. How? Because racism is one of the leading reasons why so many whites have for years voted against their own material interests and helped establish an economy that keeps wages flat and concentrates massive volumes of wealth in the tiniest section of our society.

As Paul Krugman explained in his book The Conscience of a Liberal, the conservative revolution of the '80s would not have been possible without the raw exploitation of the racist feelings of many white voters. These feelings had deep roots in American history and were powerful enough to turn working- and middle-class whites against themselves and to politically side with their natural enemies. It was like lambs voting for wolves. But the conservative men and women they voted into office not only made life miserable for blacks but for anyone of any color who was not rich.

If you do not address this real racism, do not make it a central part of your platform, you are ignoring the way the United States got into a nightmare situation where these kinds of statistics are the norm:

1. In 81 percent of American counties, the median income, about $52,000, is less than it was 15 years ago. This is despite the fact that the economy has grown 83 percent in the past quarter-century and corporate profits have doubled. American workers produce twice the amount of goods and services as 25 years ago, but get less of the pie.

2. The amount of money that was given out in bonuses on Wall Street last year is twice the amount all minimum-wage workers earned in the country combined.

Black voters did not lead us into this mess. White racists did, and something has to be done about their racism if a major root that's feeding US income inequality is to be successfully deracinated.