As LBJ famously put it:
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
100%. One of the key reasons the US didn't get universal healthcare in the Social Security Act of 1935(!) was because FDR relied on Southern Democrats who thought it was a threat to segregation. So yes they will definitely die for it. If we want to build a better social fabric, we have to deal with racism there's no other way.
That's almost the same cover as JD Vance's "Hillbilly Elogy".
Some folks would rather literally die than have the 'wrong people' have an improvement in their lives:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_of_Whiteness
Do not under-estimate the power of spite/hate.