I think you misunderstood why the American worker chose individualism over communalism.

I believe they were taught to believe that social insurance, healthcare, unemployment benefits, even libraries, would benefit the black man, and they would have to pay for it.

At the heart of the _white_ American worker's willingness to sabotage their own best interest is an unwillingness to sacrifice their own, scarce, dollars for the _other_.

For sure, playing the incumbent working poor against the imported working poort has been a stable and staple foundation of fascist politics worldwide and throughout the ages. It's the tragedy of socialism - its inability to succeed against even superficial selfishness.