Does the American Dream exist in Black America?

In the year 1968, 21-year old Dolavah Holt emigrated from the West African country Liberia to the ritzy yet crime-ridden city of New York. Leaving behind seven siblings and a set of parents, she embarked on a journey that would ultimately prove to be a reward. Marriage, kids, and a thriving corporate career, Dolavah Howard-my grandmother-is the epitome of the American Dream, the dream to achieve success and greater opportunities in the land of America. Thirty-one years later, 23-year old immigrant Amadou Dillaou began the same journey as my grandmother. Emigrating from the West African country Guinea, a country only 392 kilometers from Liberia, Amadou arrived in New York City with high aspirations of achieving his American Dream. Three years later, he was shot forty-one times to death by New York City Police Department Officers. Amadou’s crime? Possessing Black skin. Amadou Dillaou’s inability to complete his American Dream due to his untimely death is attributed to the racism in our country. In fact, it seems like many Black Americans’ inability to complete their American Dream can be attributed to the systemic racism in our country. From the disparaging unemployment gaps to the differing page wages and underfunded schools, one can’t help but raise the question: Does the American Dream still exist in Black America?

The Negligence of Black Children

The venerable activist and former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, was once quoted as saying “Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future.” Unfortunately, America’s educational system does not share this sentiment towards low-income children who live in impoverished districts. In 2016, ​low-poverty districts spent one billion more on school construction than high-poverty districts (PBS). Furthermore, ​according to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, children who attend schools in low-income neighborhoods are ​more likely​ to be in poorly ventilated classrooms, stifle in extreme heat, and shudder in the cold. Updated textbooks and faster technology are less likely to be provided in school neighborhoods where low-income students reside. ​Thus, students who live in high-poverty neighborhoods and who typically inhabit Black and Brown communities, are being robbed of a fulfilling school experience solely because of the high-poverty school districts they attend. ​How can belief in the American Dream, the idea that equal opportunity for all, exist when the children of today, changemakers of tomorrow, are lacking funding and adequate resources for schooling? The unlevel playing field gives low-income Black children extreme disadvantages, like when they underperform on standardized tests. Instead, an advantage is offered to those who reside in low-poverty, affluent neighborhoods,

supplying them with the best resources to succeed in college and future endeavors. This injustice only furthers the notion that the American Dream is only applicable for those who possess the beneficial complexion and who carry heavy pockets, not the Black and Brown children who primarily inhabit and attend schools in low-income neighborhoods.

Upward Mobility For Who?

Those who believe in the American Dream will attest that upward mobility is possible. Yet, how can opportunities be available to all when racial discrimination continues to transpire in the workplace? For the average working Black American, mobility is stagnant. It’s not a secret African-Americans continue to be the last hired yet first fired. This was seen as the unemployment rate grew for African-Americans

this past year. In March of 2020, the unemployment rate for African-Americans increased faster than for their White counterparts(American Progress). Moreover, research completed by Katherine DeCelles and colleagues discovered ​African Americans who hid their race on resumes had better success receiving a job interview. Similarly, White applicants receive 36% more callbacks than equally qualified African Americans(Institute for Social Reform). This blatant job discrimination reveals the transparency of the proclaimed American Dream, not a fantasy designed for Black Americans. However, it doesn’t stop there. Equal success and opportunity for Black Americans are simply not practicable when Black workers still earn less than their White counterparts. A study performed by PayScale found Black men earned 87 cents for every dollar a White man earned. The same study found that even those who climbed the corporate ladder and achieved success failed to see equity. Executive-level Black men earned 97 cents for every dollar White men with the same qualifications took home. Whether African Americans work a low-paying job or a management position, the illusion that hard-work equates to success and equity proves to be simply imaginative due to the constant racial job discrimination.

The Reality of the Black American Dream

After all the systemic racisms and ceaseless obstacles, Black Americans face, the thought of whether the American Dream still exists arises. Despite the lack of advancement in schools and workplaces that continuously transpires for Black Americans, it is Black Americans who admirably show resilience. Children from low-income neighborhoods have progressed to prestigious universities in the face of all the academic odds stacked against them. The Black middle class grows even with the

racial pay gap. Black Americans create their success and build upon their opportunities although born into a system of barriers. I’ve seen my grandmother fulfill her American Dream. I’ve read about Amadou Diallo’s American Dream abruptly ending. In the end, what matters is not whether the Dream continues to exist in Black America, but rather how we are shaping the future of our country to ensure a reality where equal opportunity, regardless of race and class, exists.