The American Dream

Dear Toni Morrison,

Ever since the question came up in my English class, I always wondered if the U.S. was split on race lines or class lines. In your article, “On the Backs of Blacks” you examine the racial hierarchy that structures life in the U.S. The idea of a hierarchy implies a layering of power, something that was already in place with slave societies. Even after the abolishment of slavery, the forces of oppression and the desire for privilege had integrated into the American mindset and into our policies, systematically cementing the black-white dichotomy. During the progressive era, with the influx of immigrants, people feared the loss of their right to inheritance - their slice of the American dream. In order to ‘succeed’ immigrants needed to integrate, take on whiteness, and reject blackness, essentially following their own form of cultural ‘passing’. Did people like the Johnston family ever take on this same mindset in order to survive? If so, does this action lead to internalized racism? When citizenship and belonging become equated with whiteness, we perpetuate the slave society hierarchy. In that sense, I see how we are divided by race. However, considering intersectionality, I am compelled to say it is both. What do you think?

Sincerely,

Sophie Devincenti

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