They immigrated from Poland in 1935. Came through Ellis Island from Italy. Caught a flight to the United States from Russia after Vladimir Putin’s election. People achieved college educations, found spouses and jobs and started families. Their houses grew in size and slowly they saw their kids get an education, houses, a job and start families of their own. This is what is called the American Dream. The dream that was taught in U.S. schools, the dream that stresses prosperity and accomplishment above all else. People of color and the American Dream If you Google “the American Dream,” you have to go through 62 images before seeing a person of color. Additionally, statistics show people of color have not been the beneficiaries of the American Dream. For example, in the 2013 U.S. Current Population Survey, black men still only made 75.1 percent of the dollar, while black women made 64 percent, Hispanic men made 67.2 percent and Hispanic women made 54 percent. Additionally, in a recent study, John Hopkins Professor of Sociology Meredith Greif explained that the homeowner aspect of the American Dream is harder for people of color to achieve compared to their white neighbors. Greif found that not only do white Americans have higher rates of homeownership, they also tend to live in richer neighborhoods with more benefits and services. Berellyn Alberca*, a first-year student at Ithaca College, immigrated from the Philippines when she was 11. She believes that the American Dream has never been an option for people of color, and still isn’t today. “America is really good at pretending nothing’s wrong,” she said. “The American Dream has never applied to undocumented immigrants and immigrants of color. It is mostly associated with white immigrants who are more likely to be employed and trusted.” Alberca isn’t shy when talking about her own experience as an immigrant. “My experience as an immigrant has been more of a competition with America trying to beat us down to the ground,” she said. “For this country to steal our achievements and write its name on them is complete bullshit.” As an undocumented immigrant, Alberca doesn’t qualify for financial aid or scholarships. “I feel like a burden to my family being [at Ithaca College] when I could’ve chosen a cheaper school,” Alberca said. This is not, however, the attitude of all immigrant families. David Rigoberto Ramos, an 18-year-old janitor from Inglewood, California said his father immigrated from Mexico before he was born. Ramos, along with his siblings, were all born in the states. In 2003, his father was arrested and served a single day in jail as his sentence. He never again committed a crime. But 12 years later, he was stopped outside his house in Inglewood by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and told his deportation had been ordered because of his crime all those years ago. Once transferred to the detention center, he told his family he would rather be deported than stay and fight in the terrifying conditions the detention center presented. Ramos has become the provider for his two siblings and his daughter while also looking after his grandmother. “It’s been a lot,” he said. “Some months we [barely] get by.” And yet, he still believes in the idea of the American Dream. “Growing up I’ve always heard of the American dream,” he said. “Everyone in my family [told] us to do better than they had. To go to school so we can own our house to earn a better education so we can move out of poverty to one day be able to step outside for a run without the worry of being hurt simply because we were outside at the wrong time.” Education and the American Dream And according to an article published in The Atlantic from April 2014, getting into one’s favored college has become more of an uphill climb than it used to be. It is clear that the race to achieve the American Dream through educational advancement is having harmful impacts on many young people. Final thoughts *Source is a writer for Buzzsaw. S. Makai Andrews is a first-year writing major who knows a false societal phenomena when she sees one. You can reach them at [email protected].
But where are the people of color in this scenario — the immigrants from Mexico, Venezuela, the Philippines? Their stories don’t seem to be included in this narrative.
Because of his father’s deportation, Ramos was unable to go to college, something often considered to be a large part of achieving the American Dream. But the pressure to achieve such success through education has taken a toll on youth.
Psychologist Penelope Facher works with many adolescents in the Los Angeles area and has witnessed the beginnings of a startling pattern. “Ten or 15 years ago, adolescents who came to see me were primarily presenting with social challenges, family difficulties and maybe some depression and substance use,” Facher said. However, Facher said in the last five years, a vast majority of the adolescents who came to her practice have had issues around stress, anxiety about school, achievement and getting into college.
It becomes apparent then that the American Dream has become nothing more than a greasy taunt that America throws at its youth, and particularly at immigrants and people of color. Earlier generations have already fought, and often failed, to achieve this life. That’s why there are still so many fighting for their slice of the dream. But what happens when they get here and things aren’t as sweet as people once promised? Ramos and Alberca are testaments to the different harsh realities that many immigrant families and people of color are facing.