African Americans And The American Dream

The black race has faced many hardships throughout American history. The harsh treatment is apparent through the brutal slavery era, the Civil Rights movement, or even now where sparks of racial separation emerge in urbanized areas of Baltimore, Chicago, and Detroit. Black Americans must do something to defend their right as an equal American. “I Am Not Your Negro” argues that the black race will not thrive unless society stands up against the conventional racism that still appears in modern America. “The Other Wes Moore” argues an inspiring message that proves success is a product of one’s choices instead of one’s environment or expectations.

The issue of slavery has been in infamous part of American history since it first started in the 1600’s in Jamestown, Virginia. During the colonial era, white male landowners needed help on their land taking care of crops, so they would purchase the African slaves after they arrived by boat and have them work the land as well as other tasks that needed to be done such as tending to

African Americans throughout the road to gain racial equality exercised many methods in order to attain such liberties. We start our exploration by viewing the most paramount methods to acquire racial equality; these methods included lobbying public officials through the court system and through peaceful public protests. We'll lastly address the violent methods used to gain racial equality but see how they were mostly unavailing.

Even after free labor came into play many of African Americans stayed with their owners and continued to work as slaves mostly because of fear of being killed. Even though they had to work long hours and not receive the pay they deserved they at least knew they were safe from other whites who were against slaves being set free. As time passes more laws begin to be passed each granting former slaves and all African Americans more rights, and pretty soon they had equal rights like everyone else. I believe this probably only angered the whites more because not only were they free but now had equal rights, but as more time passed more and more whites who once were

Ta-Nehisi Coates used clear and convincing evidence in supporting in his case for paying reparations to African-Americans. Coates argues that American society has established different types of social, political and economic standards that deprived African-American of the opportunities to fully participate in the fulfillment of the so-called “American Dream.”

In some states, like South Carolina, African Americans had to pay a certain tax if they weren’t servants or farmers. They weren’t even allowed to do any fishing or hunting in certain areas. African Americans weren’t able to own guns, and if they had any dogs, THEY WERE EVEN TAXED!! There was a federal agency, known as the Freedmen 's Bureau, which helped slaves with their transition from slavery to Emancipation. It was “thwarted” since it tried to “provide welfare for the newly emancipated.” All of this resulted in many of the freed slaves, staying dependent on the plantation for work.

Over the last one hundred and thirty years African Americans have little by little-gained freedom for themselves as slaves and domestic servants. Now as a culture they are legally capable of obtaining jobs and positions in all areas of private and public organizations, (Hayes, A. F., & Preacher, K. J., 2010). This particular ethnic group are known to be instrumental in holding their cultures together through times of constant struggle. They have used rallies, protests, silent marches and received help from volunteer organizations to fight for rights as well as obtain justice in a racist and sexist society. This work explores the troubles African Americans face in Americas society today, through stereotypes and how gender roles as African Americans differ from each other as well as the American population.

In Between the World and Me, Coates speaks of a “dream” that was never designed for people of African descent to achieve. Coates describes the dream as if it “smells like peppermint but tastes like strawberry shortcake (Coates, 2015).” This sweet and delectable dream will never be achieved or will ever be an option because the dream was built upon the backs of blacks and was never meant to be obtainable by minorities. African Americans have had the hardest of times to achieve the “American dream”. Since the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination unconstitutional and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited racial discrimination when voting, the African American community has been at a standstill when it comes to social and economic progressions over the last forty years.

To many people across the globe, the United States of America appears to be a place where one can be proud of. America the land where dreams come true and there is always a chance for any person to succeed. People who are not from the United States have been painted a beautiful picture of what life in our country is like. Not only do they think that there is a special place in America for them and the perfect career for each individual, but unfortunately this is not always true. The American dream is not necessarily to get rich quick, it is more along the lines of a hard worker having an opportunity to be financially stable and to live a pleasant life. The dream is that their sons and daughters will not have to suffer the same things that

After being arrested, African-Americans are 33% more likely than whites to be detained while facing a felony trial in New York. The amount of African Americans killed solely based of skin color throughout history is astonishing from lynching to police brutality. The American dream was something everyone coveted because it was the opportunity of success and prosperity in society. This included living in the suburbs with a family with a successful job. For many this was available through hard work and diligence but if you were African American during the 1950s it was a different story. The American dream was unattainable by African Americans in the United States because of racism and prejudice.

Even though the optimal American Dream doesn’t promise that all citizens will achieve personal success, it offers equality and fortunes for them to pursue dreams through hard work. However, during the Industrial Age, the American Dream didn’t apply to the lower class. Most immigrants from southern and eastern Europe arrived in the United States to escape religious persecution and poverty in their home countries and also seek new opportunities. But, they realized the brutal reality after their arrival. As unskilled foreigners who suffered poverty and lacked experience and English skills, immigrants lived in nasty tenements located in city ghettos, earned little wages that at times couldn’t even enable the whole family to survive, and were taken advantage from bosses because of their naivete and lack of power. African Americans faced a crueler circumstance because of the long-lasting racial discrimination. In the 1880s, a number of African Americans migrated from rural south to industrial cities in order to avoid poverty, violence, and oppression they faced in the deep South. However, they rarely found factory jobs or professional opportunities. Women also couldn’t rule their destinies during the Industrial Age. Desiring to be more independent and provide financial help to families, many women worked in factories. Most of them experienced disadvantages, including gaining less wages than men did and experiencing sexual harassment from their foremen. Even though the federal

There were many stories told of racism, of men and women breaking their backs working all day. People have heard of homeless families dying on the streets, and signs swaying back and forth on doors to restaurants forbidding different races to eat there. Is that the case now? Are there still dying people lying on the cold ground with no food or families? Do people see horrific scenes of men and women working in fields all day? Do families still have to witness an African American get up and move to the back of a bus for a Caucasian? No, that is not the case anymore. America is a better country now. In source E it says, “The chair in Washington sat had a sun, and the question was asked, is it rising or setting?” This quote questions

America is regarded as a place of freedom, a place where everyone is treated the same and have equal rights. However, this freedom did not always apply to everyone and even now this freedom is incomplete. To this day these people are still suffering from discrimination, but there are groups and movements trying to amend this. Though America has prided itself as a country of freedom, the path to freedom for marginalized African Americans is treacherous and incomplete because of slavery, racism, violence, and segregation, but has made much progress.

James Baldwin once said, “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.” The state of rage that Baldwin speaks of, has enveloped the United States of America for the past 410 years. When the first colonists stepped foot onto this country they brought with them the dreams of a better life. A life that would be built of the backs of others. The colonists dreamt of freedom, religious and otherwise, but only for the white man. The colonists came to the United States unknowingly pursuing the American Dream, the idea that a person has the complete freedom and opportunity to pursue their own idea of happiness. The American Dream is unrealistic for minorities and works against African Americans in three main ways: the first is the desire to own a home, the second is the perception of equal opportunities for education and jobs, and the third is true freedom.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”