Zoe C. Walker
When Hard Work Isn't Enough
Black Americans and the Politics of Achieving the American Dream
In this book, I re-tell the age old story of the American Dream through the eyes of Black Americans. In doing so, I seek to situate the heart-warming and fondly-regarded narrative of upward mobility through hard work within the harsh reality of structural racism. This re-framing serves two purposes: first, it calls on scholars to regard public opinion about economic mobility with more scrutiny, particularly among disadvantaged groups. Without careful consideration of the social, political and economic constraints on Black Americans, analysis of Black public opinion about opportunity and economic mobility is incomplete. Second, this re-framing offers a nuanced account of the tension between American exceptionalism and institutional racism in Black politics.
In a departure from existing theories of Black public public opinion which center Black Americans' alienation and exclusion from the American Project as the impetus of their political behavior, I consider how Black Americans' dual experience of conflicting racial and national identities has shaped the way Black Americans think about the politics of racial inequality. Drawing on the DuBoisian concept of double-consciousness and in conversation with work on national identity, citizenship and colorblindness, I introduce a new framework, American While Black, to describe the unique ideological beliefs at the heart of Black public opinion about racial inequality. The American While Black framework challenges existing theories of Black public opinion and political ideology by suggesting that Blacks' attachment to the American Dream narrative is an equally important axis of Black public opinion as are attitudes about racial discrimination. By explicitly interrogating Black Americans' interpretations of American values, the values that distinguish America as ``exceptional", this framework enriches our understanding of how American values can help (or harm) the pursuit of racial equality.
The implications of maintaining a belief in the American Dream within a society where racial disparities are still widespread have scarcely been explored in political science. Moreover, the heterogeneity within Black public opinion about the nature of racial inequality deserves its own careful analysis over and above a comparison with whites' attitudes. By understanding how Black Americans interpret and respond to meritocratic myths, we glean a richer understanding of how the narrative that hard work "pays off" in America organizes American racial politics.
For many, the prospect of achieving the American Dream is precisely what makes the American project worth fighting for. But, if the values upon which the the American Dream is predicated have the implicit effect of undermining Black humanity, we must take seriously the possibility that the version of the Dream which so many Americans defend is not a dream at all, but a nightmare.