San Fernando High School

Blacks Held Back

The African American Struggle to Reach the American Dream

Dayana Rios

Body Paragraph 5

Mr. Martin

April 1, 2019
 Ambition and aspiration inspire humans to pursue their dreams in life. The United states

provides a widespread of equal opportunities and platforms in the hopes of succeeding in their

goals, known as The American Dream. Although this is something everyone wishes to achieve,

unfortunately not all Americans are successful in their pursuit. More specifically, African

Americans fall short in succeeding economically. There are a few of them who broke the stereotype

and were able to reach their dreams, like Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey, but in terms of

numbers and as a whole, African Americans have one of the lowest success rates. In 2017 African

American made average household of $16,300 in comparison to whites households of $162,770

.Since there is no single reason as to why African Americans are not getting farther ahead in life,

various artists and influencers contribute their interpretations as to why.

Present day blacks may not want to be a part of mainstream US economy due to the

troubling past of the Jim Crow Era and slavery. To be specific, one of the horrors blacks suffered

at the time was public lynching - being hung without a legal trial. The horrors are described by

Billie Holiday in her 1939 song Strange Fruit . She sings lines such as “Blood on the leaves and

blood at the root, Black body swinging in the southern breeze” and “The bulging eyes and the

twisted mouth” to paint an image in the listener's mind of what was being publically displayed for

enjoyment of whites and to bring an awareness to what was happening to the blacks in the South.

Another platform where the visual representation of the torture of blacks was being shown was in

James Allen’s book Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America. Viewer discretion

would be advised because these are first-hand visual photos of gruesome deaths of African

Americans. There are hundreds of photos of blacks being beaten, stabbed, whipped, burned,

beheaded, and lynched, all for just being black. These were usually public gatherings where crowds

of white men, woman and even children would watch. The most unsettling thing about this is that
they enjoyed watching this and clearly had no fear of any repercussions. Some of these photos

were even made into postcards with horrible captions ,for instant, “ hey grandma, here’s a picture

of the necktie party we had last night”. Keep in mind that this happened during the twentieth

century, meaning there are still stories and memories of this event that have been kept alive. With

these stories being kept alive, it is reasonable to believe that living blacks today would still feel

resentment and even hatred toward whites. This could lead blacks to be discouraged to work with

or for whites since it could bring up a feeling of simulating the past. This makes sense when you

take into account the fact that whites dominate the US economy, so if an African American would

want to get ahead economically by wanting a better job, the odds of them working with or for

whites is very high. Given these circumstances, it is perhaps understandable why African

Americans would choose to distance themselves from the jobs in the mainstream economy,

resulting in them not getting ahead in life.

It is hard to believe that something as simple as hair could contribute to the reason African

Americans are not getting ahead in life. There is a certain conflicting feeling toward a person’s

outward appearance and the desire to resist assimilating into the predominant white culture. In the

story A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha, an African American woman, is visited

by her fellow Nigerian intellectual friend Asagai, who comments on her hair. He claims she is

“mutilating her hair” which could be interpreted as Beneatha having straightened her hair, and is

therefore concerned that she will be regarded as a sell-out. This brings up a dilemma for African

Americans, more for the women than men, that are trying to get ahead in life. To join a mainstream

society, they must present themselves a certain way that is agreeable for the whites. So for a person

who would want to embrace their ethnic and racial pride but also wish to succeed economically,

they would have to alter their outward appearance resulting in feelings of betrayal to their own
heritage. This reason could be confirmed by the 2009 New York Times article Black Hair Still

Tangled in Politics. In the article, they reference famous black comedian, Chris Rock’s

documentary Good Hair, where he discusses the importance of hair styling one's hair in the African

American communities and the extent that they go through to fit the needs of society. Fellow black

comedian Paul Mooney agrees with this reasoning saying, “If your hair is relaxed, white people

are relaxed,” and “If your hair is nappy, they’re not happy”; meaning your appearance must be

approved by whites since they dominate the economy and if they are not pleased, then you may

not succeed. The article also cites a UCSB professor of black studies ,Ingrid Banks, who says “For

black women, you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t”. Black women are damned by fellow

African Americans since they are being regarded as a sellout for altering hair and if they don’t

alter their appearance, then they are damned by upset white people who will not allow them a

chance at success. This was also proven on an occasion with Barack Obama’s daughter , Malia

Obama, when she went on a family trip to Europe following the win of the election in 2009. She

wore her hair in twist and was criticized by a world wide amount of people saying that she was not

fit to represent her country based on her appearance, even though she was just a child. When taken

into consideration what white people have to do versus what black people have to do in order to

fit into mainstream society, it is understandable to believe why African Americans would have a

difficulty in the pursuit of success. Consider a famous African artist like Bob Marley, if he would

want to join mainstream economy, he would have to cut off his legendary dreadlocks and change

his style; on the other hand, a white man like Biff Loman from Arthur Miller’s book Death of a

Salesman, would only have to borrow a tie to be presentable toward the business establishment.

This dilemma could be the reason why African Americans can not get ahead in life in today’s

society.
 It is easy to assume why more African Americans aren’t succeeding economically when it

is taken into consideration how the whites have influenced that. The title itself A Raisin in the Sun

, gives a hint as to how this became possible. A raisin is a metaphor for African Americans being

dried out and shriveled “grapes” from exposure to too much sun (the whites) since the sun

dominates the sky, and the whites dominate the economy. Just like raisins, Hansberry suggests that

blacks are getting the life drained from them from demoralizing whites who keep them from living

up to their full potential. Whites made it difficult back then so it is understandable why African

Americans would be afraid to pursue success today and this is evident throughout the story. A

white business man named Mr. Linder, visits the house in order to persuade the Youngers to not

move into the neighborhood by offering them a bribe, which they deny. When Mama asks what

Linder wanted and if he threatened them, Beneatha hysterically replies “ they don't do it like that

any more.” page 121. Whites still persecute and act aggressively towards blacks, but in a much

less conspicuous way; such behavior did not end along with slavery. “Them houses they put for

colored in them areas way out all seem to cost twice as much as other houses.” page 93 . This is a

reference to the practice of redlining and restrictive covenants used to prevent white flight - the

migration of white people out of a neighborhood due to colored people moving into the

neighborhood. Red lining was a common strategy that the whites and banks would use where they

would raise prices and deny services to prevent, in this case Africans, from doing something, more

specifically to keep them from moving into their neighborhood, or just to not get ahead in life in

general. Restrictive covenants was when they would restrict racial people from moving into the

neighborhood and would do everything they could to prevent them from moving in, so that the

house property would not lose its monetary value. Keep in mind that this story takes place around

the 1950s, when, not that long ago, all of these practices were legal. Hansberry provides evidence
of obstacles that whites have put in the way of African Americans. There were the economic

obstacles whites threw ,but they also took deadly manners into their hands. The Younger’s

neighbor, Mrs. Johnson, visits and when she notices the Youngers are moving into a white

neighborhood, she brings up a headline in the newspaper. “You mean you ain't read 'bout them

colored people that was bombed out their place out there?” page 100. African Americans who

moved into white neighborhoods suffered violent attacks which would ultimately discourage them

from putting in the effort required to move into a better neighborhood. It is difficult to get ahead

in an economy of people who not only despise you, but who also dominate the economy not

allowing you to succeed. You must present yourself a certain way to fit the needs of whites,

meaning you would have to abandon your culture and embrace the white culture. When Beneatha

is discussing her hatred toward assimilationists, she exclaims: “It means someone who is willing

to give up his own culture and submerge himself completely in the dominant, and in this case

oppressive culture!”page 51. Blacks still believe that whites oppress them into fitting into the

mainstream economy. Hansberry suggests African Americans were not getting ahead because

whites made it difficult, even in how they presented themselves. Blacks would put in all this effort

to please the whites, but sometimes it wasn’t enough. Before Linder leaves, disappointed that the

Youngers are going along with their plans of moving in, he tries to make them pessimistic and

says,“You just can't force people to change their hearts, son.” page 119. Racial prejudice,

discrimination of one's race or ethnicity, is still a strong thing. Getting whites to see blacks

differently is a tough thing to do which is important to blacks because whites dominate the

economy. Since it is difficult to get ahead, some chose not to. African Americans might not want

to work in the mainstream economy because it would feel as if they’re repeating history, feeling
degraded or even as a slave. For these reasons, it is reasonable to believe why African Americans

aren’t getting ahead in today’s mainstream economy.

Another interpretation that Hansberry suggests could be a reason African Americans are

not getting ahead in life is that it could be because of their religion, Christianity. Throughout the

story, Mama references God as a sign of hope. Throughout the years, Beneatha grows up to see

the world as it truly is, how her race is horribly treated; thus, she loses her faith in God. In the

book Beneatha states, “There simply is no blasted God--there is only man and it is he who makes

miracles!” She appears to be a passionate atheist because she believes that if God truly created and

loved all his people, then why is he treating blacks so horribly? This makes sense when the Bible

story of Noah and the Curse of Ham is interpreted. In the Bible, Noah was a father and vineyard

man who one day got drunk and passed out in his tent naked. His son Ham found him and made a

mockery of him while his two brothers Japheth and Shem covered Noah with a cloak and averted

their eyes. Looking at another man’s genitals was a sign of disrespect and when Noah found out

Ham saw him naked and made a mockery of him, he cursed his son and his future generations to

forever be servants. To some, this was interpreted as God punishing the African American’s to a

life of slavery. In the story, Mama references Big Walter saying, "Seem like God didn’t see fit to

give the black man nothing but dreams”. Hansberry has taken this to mean that it seems as though

God only gave the African American’s hopes and dreams for a life of heaven, once their suffering

on earth is over. With heaven being the only thing going for them, they would not have any reason

to want to risk it. When Ruth is trying to convince Mama to invest in Walter’s liquor store business

idea, Mama says,“But whether I go into business selling it to ‘em is, and I don’t want that on my

ledger this late in life.” She believes that if she invests in a business of liquor, she would have

sinned late in her life; so, when she passes away and meets Saint Peter - an angel who decides
where you spend your eternal afterlife based on actions made when you were alive - she fears that

being in the business of liquor will affect her negatively and lose her spot in heaven. Hansberry

believes the fear of not being accepted into heaven, the possible only salvation and hope African

Americans have, could be the reason blacks aren’t getting ahead in life.

Rap music, what was once a promising music genre, has become a detrimental influence

on young African Americans. Nathan McCall argues this in his essay excerpt “Gangstas, Guns,

and Shoot-Ups” from his book What’s Going On?. Rap music does and still has a strong force for

social change. It was once humorous, had great beats, with catchy lyrics to attract an audience of

people to hear political messages. It also provides an easily understood explanation of how whites

control the system of life. Rap music also gave people a platform to express their feelings and

strong voice, which made them feel powerful. Today, rappers take advantage of rap music’s

attributes for inappropriate reasons, more specifically, Gangsta rap music. For starters, it promotes

black-on-black violence. “those who were oppressed have become oppressors of their own

people”. They take out hatred of whites harassing blacks onto other blacks. Many songs are

“straight up calls for blacks to kill other blacks” for example, “Rat-a-tat and a tat like that Never

hesitate to put a nigga on his back.” This music is also oppressive and abusive, more specifically,

towards women. Women are viewed as objects being only sexual objects to be exploited by men

regardless of race. Sleaze and Shock drown out important political messages and substitute for

artistic creativity. They are taking advantage of the platform to talk about what they consider

creative/important instead of using it to promote political call to actions and bring awareness to

problems faced in real life.This leads to ignorance, in both the artists and listeners, the least

knowledgeable and wise are the ones most listened to. This ignorance also leads to video “clones”

or “copycats”. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen t all rappers videos. Everyone is banal, reproducing
what others have done and said before in the past. Rap music has become counterproductive

meaning it’s having an opposite effect on society than intended. Glamorization(superficially

making beautiful) of poverty, crime, and drug abuse making these problems more difficult to

resolve when others try it seeing it as a not so bad thing. It profits from self-hatred, from making

blacks look stupid, and exploiting kid’s innocence. Dr. William Byrd ,a black clinical psychologist,

states “When you bombard someone with those messages, it cause conflict, even with those young

people who may have been taught other values.” Kids are at an impressionable age and what they

hear and see can permanently affect their future life choices. Two examples of call to actions that

should be done include promoting self-censorship and changing the world black kids grow up in.

Radio stations are already censoring words in songs that include or are in relation to suicide, drugs,

and curse words and there is also parental restriction on kids devices. Changing the world blacks

grow up in is a difficult global task necessary to making the world a better and safer place. Gangsta

rap music’s platform should be used for intended use instead of promoting violence amongst each

other.

Nathan McCall references the famous gangsta rap group NWA, also known as N****s

with Attitude, in his collection of essays What’s Going On when discussing how rap music affects

the lives of blacks. In their song N****s for Life , their lyrics suggest that one of the various reasons

why African Americans are not getting ahead in life economically is because of themselves. A

lyric in their song that implies this states, “Why you brothers insist on usin’ the word n****? Don’t

you know that's bringin down the black race?”. Blacks degrade themselves by willingly using this

word making whites think low of them and that they deserve to be treated as inferior. In a white

dominated economy, you would want them to think high of you and not stereotype you by that

word in order to get ahead. Another verse that supports the idea of blacks getting in their own way
states, “A young brother, who don’t give a f**k about another.” The group believes it’s a primitive

capitalist world where instead of looking out for one another, they look after themselves. Capitalist

also live by a paradox similar to this “it’s kill or be killed” and according to NWA, blacks chose

to kill saying, “ Well it’s because motherf*****s wanna blast me”. This could be interpreted as

blacks will not hesitate to save themselves, making them sound dangerous. Blacks seem to lack

moral and a reason in life saying, “You see, I don’t give a f**k about nothin except getting paid,

getting b*****s and givin’ stitches”. Blacks might be missing the big picture; that communities

with people who support one another are most likely to get ahead. Furthermore, blacks could be

their own reason as to why they aren't getting ahead in today's economy.

Another reason Nathan McCall suggests more African Americans aren’t getting ahead in

life today is because of “the grotesque contradictions we Americans bring to the game”. More

specifically, he believes the superficial advertisement of basketball and how both whites and

blacks perceive this is the reason why. He once witnessed a basketball game at the park once were

a team of white boys were dominating other teams but lose their confidence once a team of big

black brothers show up in a big luxury car to play a game of basketball. They were dressed head

to toe in fine brand athletic gear saying, “Like maybe they’d taken in too many of those popular

sneaker commercials that feed America’s myths about their super ball-playin skills”.Though they

had intimidated the other team through fashion and height, that didn’t make up for the fact that

they weren’t coordinated and didn’t have much skill besides dunking. This resulted in them losing

the game and though the whites felt victorious, they waited till after they left to celebrate in fear

of them unleashing their frustration on them. The reason McCall thinks they were confident they

were going to win because of how the media portrays blacks in basketball. McCall claims the

media does this by “Using everyday blacks and star athletes as props to sell hundred-dollar
sneakers, admen allot black males a rare thirty seconds under the sun”. Industries used stars

including Michael Jordan, Shaq O’Neal, Jerry Stackhouse, and other NBA stars to sell their

product whether it be Pepsi, shoes, clothing, and so on by having them play basketball. They agree

to this because they secretly yearn for attention from whites and companies gladly exploit this

feeling by having them advertise basketball in their products. “Almost from the jump, they’re

encouraged- by the media, by the whites, and even by the unwitting black athletes they admire

most- to buy into images that lead to self-defeat.” Black role models are a contribution to the

motivation of blacks success and if young influential blacks see a successful black man playing

basketball in the stuff they advertise, chances are they will purchase this item in hopes of becoming

a successful basketball player too. They rely on intimidation and appearance instead of talent to

get ahead but this will get them nowhere. Take for example Biff Loman from Death of a Salesman.

He relied on his looks and charisma instead of education to become a businessman but ended up

stealing himself out of every good job he ever had. If blacks continue to rely on advice from

advertisement and not skill, they will not get ahead in life economically.

In Spike Lee’s 1989 film Do the Right Thing he suggests that a reason why more African

Americans are not getting ahead in today’s economy is because whites still have to much power.

This interpretation is shown in various scenes when blacks interact with whites. In the scene where

the black community is having fun by playing with water shooting out of the fire hydrate, a white

man appears in an antique, hood down car asking rudely of them to not getting him and his

“precious” car wet. In response to him, two of the blacks end up drenching his car entirely in water

and leave the scene unnoticed when the cops arrive. The man wishes to press charges against them

but when asked their names by a white cop, he responds “Fuck you their names”. Disrespecting a

police office is a federal offense but he doesn’t seem to worry or care about that because he is
white. This theory is proven true when the police just brush it off and go away after being offended

by that man. This interaction with white cops is a different story African Americans deal on a

daily. At the scene of the black on white showdown in Sal’s pizzeria, the cops show up to break

off the fight but more importantly to get the blacks off of the white man. Once they get Radio

Raheem off of Sal, they continue to hold him in a choke hold with his arm and bat. Though Radio

Raheem had stopped fighting and was only struggling to breathe, the cops continued in spite of

the blacks calling him off. Radio Raheem ended up dying of asphyxiation and the cops ran away

with his body. While being choked, they showed close up images of Radio Raheem’s struggling

face and feet. You can see the struggle in his feet till his last breathe when he could no longer move

them and they dangled for sight. This is a reference to public lynching of blacks during the Jim

Crow era. Blacks continue to be oppressed by whites and they continue to get away with it. After

the fight, a riot breaks out against Sal’s pizzeria and the black community destroy, raide, and burn

his restaurant. Fireman arrive to the scene in an attempt to stop the fire from spreading. Blacks

jump onto and tackle the fireman to stop them from saving the building. To defend themself they

begin to spray the blacks with the powerful hose. This was a common strategy used during the

Civil Rights Struggle and it evokes images of the way police in the South would put down black

protest. The day after the riot, DJ Big Daddy does his daily weather forecast saying “forecast:

HOT! No end to the heatwave”. This is an example of pyrrhic victory, a victory that inflicts a

devastating toll on victor as well as defeated. Though blacks took power for once and destroyed

Sal’s pizzeria, they realize that the whites will always be in control no matter what except now

they won’t have pizza. The heat from the sun means the oppression from whites. Whites are

continuously referenced as suns because they are powerful race in terms of success. Throughout

the film, it is noticeable that a young girl is drawing on the street a big smiling sun with chalk. At
first sight Mookie steps on it but second time around he avoids this. Some may view this as he felt

sorry for being disrespectful, but through the eyes of Spike Lee, this can be interpreted as the

ultimate triumph of white supremacy : “you can take us down but we’ll still be in control”.

Through Spike Lee’s interpretation, it is easy to understand that white’s dominant power could be

a reason as to why more African Americans today are not getting ahead in life economically.

As this paper has hopefully made plain, various reasons contribute to the low success rate

of African Americans in achieving the American Dream. In Spite of all of these reasons, there is

still hope for black generation to get ahead. The Jim Crow Era is over and it is time everyone

treated each other equally and start a better era. If action isn’t taken into matter, racial tension will

arise and will cause a new era, a dark era.

 Works

Cited

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