https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc The American Dream is easier for certain groups of people to achieve than others. en-us 2022-05-16 15:38:46 UTC 2025-11-07 04:34:50 UTC hello@padlet.com 5722941 https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2185987037 The American Dream is easier for certain groups of people to achieve than others. Certain minorities have to work 10x harder to get a job, go to college, and are given fewer opportunities than those who are not minorities. For example, systemic racism has put black and brown people in ghettos and poor areas with bad schooling systems and those neighborhoods are also over-policed. My American Dream is to be successful and happy. I also want other people to be successful and happy as well. If I am successful and happy, but others aren't, then I am not fully living my idea of the American Dream. By successful I mean I want to be financially stable and have a good job. I want other people to be able to live their American Dream with the same opportunities as me.]]> 2022-05-16 15:58:03 UTC https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2185987037 5722941 https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2186021007 I chose this photo because it reminds me of being stress free and happy.]]> 2022-05-16 16:18:54 UTC https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2186021007 5722941 https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2186567232 I chose this because it depicts equal opportunity for all Americans.]]> 2022-05-17 00:00:18 UTC https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2186567232 5722941 https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2187849790 i chose this photo because I want to live somewhere by the beach one day. I hope to be successful enough to own a house in the beach area.]]> 2022-05-17 15:35:04 UTC https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2187849790 5722941 https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2187926292 Staci believes that for herself and her kids, she still thinks of America as a land of opportunity, where you can start from the bottom and work your way up. But, the "American Dream" that we're taught to strive for is flawed because it only talks about what you should get (education, wealth, 2-3 kids, nice house in suburbs, etc.) but it doesn't talk about WHO you could become. She then talked about the advice her mom gave her, which was that after something bad happens you have 72 hours to feel sorry for yourself and then you have to get up, dust your knees off, and keep it pushin'. Then she gave me advice about my dreams and she said, "There are gonna be challenges, disappointments, struggles, but they are not going to define you. What is gonna define you is what you do and what decisions you make in those moments." Finally, she thinks the American Dream is unrealistic to achieve because it is very black and white but life is not black and white.]]> 2022-05-17 16:18:43 UTC https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2187926292 5722941 https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2188800991 This song was written and released in on Juneteenth (the day of ending slavery in America) in 2020. Anderson Paak was watching BLM protests on the news while writing this song. The song is about the BLM protests and George Floyd. His lyrics support my thesis statement because the popularity of the song proves that many black people relate to the Anderson Paak's feelings of missing lack of freedom and rights. One example from his lyrics is, "Oh, won't you tell me 'bout the lootin', what's that really all about? 'Cause they throw away black lives like paper towels. Plus unemployment rate, what, forty million now? Killed a man in broad day, might never see a trial." How is every American supposed to achieve their American Dream when people are being killed for minor infraction or no reason? They are being killed by the people who have sworn to protect and serve ALL Americans. Here is another example, "We just wanna break chains like slaves in the South. Started in the North End but we in the downtown. Riot cops try to block, now we gotta show down..." Anderson is saying that black americans are still living through some aspects from the Slavery and Jim Crow Era. ]]> 2022-05-18 04:18:55 UTC https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2188800991 5722941 https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2189775631 The article "Most Say The American Dream is Within Reach for Them" from The Pew Research Center, written by Samantha Smith talks about how Hispanics, whites, and black people feel like the American Dream is achievable.  White people were the highest percentage of people that feel like they have already achieved the American Dream. black people had the lowest percentage. An example from the text states, "Whites (41%) are more likely than blacks (17%) or Hispanics (32%) to say they have achieved the American dream." However, the percentage of black people and Hispanics that feel like they are on the road to achieving the American Dream is much higher than the percentage of white people with the same opinion. The article says, "But more blacks (62%) and Hispanics (51%) than whites (42%) say they are on their way to achieving it." What this tells me is there is equal optimism in the black and brown communities but the journey is longer and more difficult for them. It was very uplifting to see the high percentage of black and brown people that felt like the American Dream is achievable. ]]> 2022-05-18 16:09:00 UTC https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2189775631 5722941 https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2190549877 2022-05-19 02:59:27 UTC https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2190549877 5722941 https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2190623389 The title of the documentary is called 13th and it is on Netflix. It is a documentary about how American prisons are disproportionately packed with African Americans. This clip is talking about United States policies that have targeted African Americans in black neighborhoods and families and that our judicial system denies poor people the same access to good representation and the ability to pay to get themselves out of jail. In the video he is saying that if you are white all laws, systems, judges, policing tactics, etc. were predominantly written by white people to help mostly white people. This supports my thesis because it shows that white people are more likely to achieve their American Dream because these laws, systems, judges, etc. are based on their needs, not African Americans needs or a Hispanics needs. Because some of these laws were written not only to ignore the needs of black and brown people, but in some cases, were written to specifically target these groups and make their lives harder. As an example, black and brown people are more likely to get longer sentences for committing the exact same crimes as their white counterparts. ]]> 2022-05-19 03:58:07 UTC https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2190623389 5722941 https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2190691489 In chapter Chapter 1 of part two on page 172, Reyna shares her experience of going to school for the first time in America. The teacher didn't speak Spanish so she and a few other kids had to go sit at a table in the classroom with a teacher who spoke Spanish. Reyna struggled to learn in that class because the English-speaking teacher would tell Reyna's table to be quiet and whisper while she spoke and the Spanish-speaking teacher couldn't hear Reyna because they had to whisper the whole time. They had to stay quiet when asking questions and trying to learn so that they don't disturb the English-speaking kids from their lesson. This supports my thesis because it shows that there is little effort to properly and equally educate the Spanish-speaking students, which is not equal opportunity and could hamper their ability to achieve their American Dreams. Tax payers had paid for a Spanish-speaking teacher to be present at the school, but if the children cant ask questions/hear the Spanish-speaking teacher, whats the point of paying the salary for a Spanish-speaking teacher? The system and the policy makes no sense. She reveals that although she had to work 10x harder than many of her white counterparts, she proved that achieving your American Dream is still possible. No matter what obstacle you have in your way.]]> 2022-05-19 04:59:12 UTC https://padlet.com/5722941/n3j6eedm6kgt24tc/wish/2190691489