I really must tell you that you are an excellent contributor to this forum. I always enjoy your posts. Now, that said….
My parents‘ start was even harder than yours, and yet they ultimately joined the upper-middle class - and nothing was given to them because of “whiteness,” either. They were children of impoverished (legal) immigrants who fled Jewish persecution in Russia and Europe, living in walk-up cold-water tenements, with watered down chicken soup for supper.
Yet, they made the sacrifices, studied hard, did not take a CENT of “Relief” - and all (their siblings, too) got into tuition-free but very competitive colleges. Interestingly, they did this during the backdrop of Naziism, while antisemites killed their families.
They earned what they achieved. Also, which will be a shocker to IM2 who always likes to say that blacks got nothing, there were plenty of blacks in their colleges! (Also, tuition-free for them as well.) My dad was on the track team, and I see photos of his yearbook - most of the track team were black students.
Blacks who insist that poor whites who have achieved a life of affluence because everything was “given” to them not only discredit the wise choices, good values, discipline, and ability it took to get there, but also creates bitterness and resentment among blacks toward whites, or even a “what’s the use?” attitude - and that ultimately makes it harder for them to succeed in life, which they then blame whites for. A vicious cycle, but easily broken by:
1. Finishing high school
2. Taking a Pell-Grant paid vocational program, at a minimum
3. Refraining from having babies before marriage