Well, Damn!

I knew I was not the only sane person in this world (I say that jokingly). Recognizing the Racialized Reality of the American Dream is by far what I hope the mindset of all Americans to one day possess. It is no secret that after years of fighting for equality, we still lack the very thing that our ancestors died for. In this case it is the ability to live a life of liberty and equal opportunity.  This is nothing short of a cry out to our population as a whole. If a "Caucasian" woman born into wealth, blind to racism can come to the realization that it still exist, why not the rest of our society?

Madelynne Wager, the author of this article, came to this realization by living in South Africa for a couple months. She was astonished about how the paleness of her skin was the golden ticket to success. "I recognized Americans system of privilege. I understood that decades of policies allowed my family to acquire wealth, while largely excluding African Americans." Being in the segregated areas of South Africa, she could easily see the similarities that we have here in America. She worked no more than the average Joe (black) did but in a matter of months she had a corner office while "Joe" remained a gardener working from 6 in the morning to 7 in the evening. You would like to think that she could've had a better personality than Joe, or was more dedicated, or even it could've been her looks. Too bad that is so far from the truth. She came to the understanding that the color of her skin regardless of her work ethic was all it required.

The majority of our population may not think that racism still exists. However, there is a strong possibility that we are hindered by deception. There is a mirage of equality that our American society portrays. Underneath the "perfect", imperfect vision of the "American Dream" lies the historic and present injustices of inequality that continue to contaminate our society. Whether you choose to believe it or not, there are invisible barriers within our communities that we refuse to accept is there. White privilege has not ceased to exist, it has just taken on another, more subtle form.

The American Dream goes as such, "Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness". According to Wager, this dream is severely deflated by moral contradiction. This dream is merely a broken promise to our general population. Similar to 40 acres and mule! *drops mic