My Dreams Of African American Dreams

“One of the generalities most often noted about Americans is that we are a restless, a dissatisfied, a searching people,”(Steinbeck America & Americans) John Steinbeck stated this when discussing the topic of the American dream. He believes that numerous Americans are chasing after a dream that is nearly impossible to reach. John Steinbeck expresses his belief on the American dream through a general negative attitude toward the American dream and the failed dreams of his characters.

African Americans have endured many trials and tribulations over the centuries. Our people have suffered from war, violence, and anguish simply because of the color of our skin. Our history has been so blatantly missing from textbooks and the K-12th grade educational atmosphere. Our educational system continues to neglect the history of our African American ancestors and fail to provide them with the educational resources to inform them of our past and allow them to learn about the true origins of our culture. We have made many significant contributions to the world but those have also been highly ignored as well.

Over the course of this semester, I was introduced to many people, ideas, writings, and discussions that sparked my interest and enlightened me on African American history. However, I feel like this was just the beginning of my journey of learning the history of my people, as there is still so much out there to be brought to the surface. Prior to taking this course, I was always ignorant on the topic of African American history and simply made the connection to slavery. Additionally, I was unaware of other black activist, movements, and struggles that I had the chance to witness for the first time in this class. I came to a realization of how deprived of this information I was, because other historic events have been deemed more important. A quote that stuck with me throughout the course that was made by Arthur Schomburg was, “... African history and negro history, are the missing pages of world history”.

I learned how Ida B. Wells-Barnett started her life. Born as a slave, orphaned at 16, she became a teacher to support her surviving brothers and sisters. With the difficult circumstances brought upon her, it took an amazing amount of determination for her to fight for black civil rights and women’s rights in the 19th century. In a more civilized age, it’s harder to witness the courage she represented for the disadvantaged.

In Life, you can inspire or be inspired. Whatever you dedicate yourself to and become successful in what that plan, it is important to represent yourself, leaving a legacy for others to follow in your footstep. Many people of different backgrounds, race, and cultures all have a story to tell, a story that will be told years from now and impact someone to do even greater things in their time. As black history month approaches, a time where we acknowledge those who had great accomplishments, and how they impacted others as well as their community. Many African-Americans in Florida’s history, are not recognized as often as they should. One person, in particular, would be Joseph W. Hatchett.

Africans have long faced racism in their long history in America. They have had their identities and rights lost under centuries of slavery. Even after the Civil War, the inequalities between African Americans and Caucasians did not cease to exist. From these troubles, many strong people have risen and been able to tell their stories. Among these include a former slave who traveled north and gained freedom, Frederick Douglass and civil rights activist, Malcolm X who both wrote their own autobiographies about their journeys against racism. While Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass lived about a century apart, they share similarities in how they faced and combated racism through education, inspiration by other people, and their eventually finding of freedom.

The purpose of my research has nothing to do with historical backgrounds or these ladies experiences, but what was it that caused them to stay in college until they got their degrees. It serves to discover the motivational forces behind these women’s achievements as the first black women on the Virginia Tech campus. This paper is based solely on the experiences of these women, henceforth; I can only offer my analysis explicitly to the experiences stated in these women’s transcripts and not a generalized account of all African American women.

Rose Kennedy coined the famous statement: “life is not a matter of milestones, but of moments”. Black History month focuses on specific African Americans whom have made an overall national difference within each Americans’ life. However, this month often forgets to praise those African Americans whom have made and are still making a difference within the lives of the people in their community. There is one specific African American lady whom has made a difference within the members of my small community, along with continuing to make a major impact within my life. Her name is Albertnetta Hamilton, and this is her story.

Lao Tzu once said that “the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”, which means that no matter how difficult the task, determination requires a necessary prelude for accomplishment (Tzu). People generally perceive accomplishments as the most important aspect of an individual’s value, but ultimately, only oneself can determine their worth and beliefs. The fading of one’s ideals is bound to occur eventually, but the only legacies considered inerasable are deeds. Great men and women are rarely remembered for their beliefs or thoughts; instead they are judged depending on their actions and the resulting consequences.

What is the American Dream? 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 American Dream of African American soldiers after WWI American Dream of African American soldiers after WWI ;During World War I many things changed, lives were destroyed ;dreams shattered, and many soldiers’ who went to war came back ... 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 they did. Their children will be better off in the long run because African-American Entrepreneurship In a comparative light there seems to be significant problems, or obstacles, for African-American entrepreneurs. These problems are categorized by environmental factors, opportunity factors, and issues related to capital. The ... of their hard work. Why hasn’t the African American community been able to reach the American dream In America everyone is guaranteed the opportunity

The most surprising information that I discovered in the article was the fact that African Americans appreciate their heritage more than Africans do. It is really awkward that African Americans are more proud than the Africans are. African Americans take racism more serious than Africans and that’s really because they love who they are, and are also proud Americans, so African Americans are proud because as in today we have seen a lot of free citizens that have become lawyer, doctors, and the musicians that’s what makes African Americans to be proud of their country.

My trip to the “National Museum of African American History and Culture”, gave me the opportunity to absorb the hardships and rigors African Americans experienced during difficult ages. I learned, in more detail, about the people who made an impact on the African American movement. For example, before the trip, I thought Ben Carson was merely an important figure and didn’t have a clear understanding of what his contribution was. In the Community Galleries, I discovered that Ben Carson that is known for being a distinguished neurosurgeon and for successfully separating conjoined twins. His accomplishments link to my goals of becoming a physical therapist because he was able to defy odds with immense dedication.

How many times have you been the first to do something? Not many people are able to be trailblazers in their community, school, or career field. Others seem destined to make a path that is all their own with sheer will and desire to change the status quo.

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

“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.”