Jandos Rothstein
The American ethos is, above all, rooted in the potential of the individual. Success in America is attributed to individual hard work, ingenuity, or talent, and conversely, failure is assumed to stem from personal weakness. In essence, this underlies the idea of the American dream, which assumes that anyone can achieve if they simply work hard enough. The narrative this idea creates is incredibly powerful, inspiring countless Americans to labor tirelessly and make immense sacrifices, all in the belief that one day, their efforts will pay off. This dream, moreover, serves as the basis for America’s identity as a meritocratic “land of opportunity,” an identity encapsulated in the foundational texts of the nation. However, as optimistic as it seems, the American dream is essentially a myth—and an incredibly cruel one. It obscures the systemic barriers that prevent achievement in America, and thus, places the blame for poverty on individuals, rather than the structures that cause it.
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, by Isabel Wilkerson
Nowhere is this reality more clear than in Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns, which meticulously traces the hopes, hardships, and losses of three Black migrants to the North during the Great Migration. The experiences of one character, George Swanson Starling, particularly serve to deconstruct the falsehoods represented by the American dream. Born in Eustis, Florida, Starling was raised a Black man in the Jim Crow South, which meant his existence would be inescapably mediated by the dehumanizing effects of racism. Starling was subject to a number of arbitrary and humiliating codes, both in law and in custom, intended to institutionalize the violent regime of white supremacy. Deviating, even slightly, “could get [him] killed,” a fact reinforced by the then frequent lynchings of innocent Black men. Because of this precarious reality, Starling was encouraged to abandon the “childish ideals of fair play and equality” early in his youth. The omnipresent weight of oppression meant that the American dream, which implies the existence of an equality of opportunity, was a laughable concept for Black individuals in the South.
Built upon exploitation and violence, the racial regime in the Jim Crow South was immensely profitable for white landowners, and because they possessed wealth, they controlled the institutions that were intended to serve the people. “Neither the law, the vote nor public opinion” protected Black individuals, and government, instead of countering violence, legitimized it. In theory, markets should have regulated the extent of discrimination; segregation was costly due to the expenses associated with maintaining separate facilities for both races. But as Wilkerson writes, “most southern businessmen didn’t dare complain about the extra cost.” The concentrated wealth of the minority of landowners in the South led to a concentration of power, enabling them to control the rules for all, including the supposedly neutral institution of the market.
Despite the limitations of this environment, however, George Starling continued to hope for his future. An intelligent and ambitious man, he “devoured books” and graduated valedictorian of his class, wishing to attend college to further his education. At least in this stage of his life, Starling believed in the American dream—moderated, of course, by the narrow ceiling of success that was then available to Black men. But despite being clearly talented, Starling soon discovered that the circumstances he was born under would not permit him to achieve even a modicum of what he wished for. Starling’s father believed education was an “outrageous indulgence” considering the poverty that the rest of the community lived under, and so he no longer funded his college education. Already, Starling’s story demonstrates how the American dream is a fundamentally unequal one, with the wealth or poverty of one’s community determining one’s success more than individual talent.
However, being as ambitious as he was, Starling was still committed to achieving his dream, and worked hard to do so. To earn money, he began to pick oranges, going “to the groves instead of in the library stacks.” This was an incredibly difficult, not to mention dangerous, job, and he was still paid minimally, with the white grove owners frequently lying and underpaying his already limited salary. With no legal protection, he was unable to seek recourse, and demonstrating against mistreatment would likely lead to death. Moreover, because he had “a quick mind” but not the “fastest hands,” George was not adept at the physically intensive labor, limiting his earning potential. Nevertheless, he persevered in the work, possessing little but his personal American dream.
However, after the start of World War II, the orange industry had diminished demand, leading George to work in manufacturing in Detroit, Michigan, where many other Black Southerners had settled during the Great Migration. While the North lacked the strict racial regime of Jim Crow, Black individuals still faced heavy discrimination in Detroit, where they were “relegated to run-down ghettos,” despite many being skilled and economically successful. The dissonance between Black Americans’ expectations of the North, likely shaped by the American dream, and the disappointment of their reality contributed to rising frustrations. Eventually, they culminated in the devastating 1943 race riots in Detroit, which Starling witnessed. Horrified by the violence, Starling returned to Florida, demoralized and possessing only a “dim hope” of completing his education. By now, Starling had uncovered the American dream as being simply a facade.
Having largely given up his dreams of attending college, Starling instead turned to making his reality in the South more tolerable. Unable to rely upon the government to arbitrate rules and ensure equal treatment, Starling took direct action to secure his rights. He became “impatient with the role the southern caste system assigned him” and organized a makeshift union of fellow fruit-pickers, who refused to work unless they were paid a fair wage. He was relatively successful, at least for some time, but by threatening the exploitative status quo, Starling suddenly became a target for the white individuals who benefited from it. Moreover, Florida as a whole was becoming a more dangerous place for a Black man, with the state implementing a system called “debt peonage,” which was effectively a form of modern slavery targeted toward Black men. Because the government itself profited off exploitation, it would do nothing to combat it. No matter how hard-working or talented they were, Black individuals in the South were not permitted to access even a semblance of the American dream.
Eventually, Starling could no longer escape the purview of white supremacy. After a friend told him that a group of grove owners were planning on lynching him, Starling knew he had to leave the South and migrated to New York. He was now pursuing not so much the American dream, but merely a chance at survival. Initially, New York felt like a safe haven for Starling: He found a job as a railcar attendant, and hoped that he would be able to finally construct “a freer new life for himself.” But even there, factors outside of his control would continue to prevent him from achieving all that he was capable of. Rent was high in New York, and landlords charged Black tenants “forty to sixty percent higher” than white tenants, leaving George with little extra income with which he could pursue his rapidly fading dream of going to college. He still faced racism “hitting [him] in all directions,” except it was now discreet and unpredictable. Now entirely disillusioned with the American dream, Starling largely resigned himself to his railroad job, accepting he “would be no more than that no matter how much potential he had.” He transferred his former hopes to his children, who he hoped would achieve success in the North. But the poverty of their neighborhood “swallowed” them, and his son became addicted to drugs.
In theory, Starling should have been a model candidate for achieving the American dream—he was clearly talented, hard-working, and driven, attributes which America supposedly rewards with success. But simply because of the color of his skin and the geography of his birth, Starling became confined to a life of thankless labor and dejected hopes. Accepting the existence of the American dream would blame this outcome on a lack of ambition in Starling—clearly an inaccurate and cruel judgment. Despite his tireless efforts to correct the injustices he was subject to, Starling was not protected under the law in his time, and thus, could do little but accept the disappointments of his life. Progress has been made since then, and if Starling was born only a few decades later, he might have been able to attend college. But this progress was not the result of markets, which absorbed the costs of discrimination rather than resisting it, nor the undemocratic governments of the Jim Crow era. Rather, organized movements advocating for democracy and institutions to safeguard the equality promised by the American dream were what brought progress.
Despite these advancements, however, history’s legacy lingers. Because Black Americans were long denied any opportunity to accumulate wealth, tremendous inequalities remain in the present. Thus, the American dream still remains a dream for most. And as long as there remains a concentration of wealth and power in America, it cannot be achieved. As demonstrated by the violent resistance to civil rights in the South, the minority of those who are already privileged will not give up their position when threatened, and will take all efforts necessary to prevent the dream from being realized. But if America creates rules and institutions to give everyone the opportunity to flourish and grow, whatever the circumstances of their birth, then talented and hard-working people of all backgrounds can succeed. And as a result, this country will prosper.
