What is to be considered in the question of the American Dream is whether or not the concept is an attainable goal for anyone or if the American Dream is restricted by nature to those that are already privileged. Does the pursuit of hard work truly lend itself to the affluence, success, and happiness that we seek? Is our effort contained in barriers depending on the circumstances of our race? Is the pursuit of the American Dream a futile uneven race in which some individuals are destined to win and others are encouraged into vain pursuit?
If we are in positions of natural or granted privilege, how is it that we should go about recognizing them? Should complacency be the approach to privilege?
These are all questions that I have been dwelling on. The majority of research on racial disparities in the past two years have shown that the racial wealth gap is not cured by education as we are all led to believe. A paper published from Duke indicates that the American Dream is a myth, that greater educational attainment does not lead to closing the racial wealth gap. Data gathered in the research suggests that
“White households with a bachelor’s degree or post- graduate education (such as with a Ph.D., MD, and JD) are more than three times as wealthy as black households with the same degree attainment.
Moreover, on average, a black household with a college-educated head has less wealth than a white family whose head did not even obtain a high school diploma.” -Duke University
The statistics above illustrate that both the social and structural inequality as a result of race has yet to be dismantled. For one to claim that there is no benefit or cost in correlation to being of a certain race is naive. In reality, we may be hesitant to face the idea that for a power to be evenly distributed, the ones holding the power are the ones that have the ability to determine the direction of society. For the minorities that have dealt with the constant uphill battle against racial discrimination in this society, your efforts have been valuable as seen in the Civil Rights Movement. However, the truth is that because the tables are turned against minorities, change will need to come from those in places of privilege. And that, requires recognizing, first and foremost, exactly what privileges have been freely given to you and then deciding whether or not you trust that all should have those same freedoms that you take advantage of on a day to day basis.