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Dylan Rohr

Ms. Price

(H) English I

March 20, 2019

Discrimination and the American Dream

James Truslow Adams first described the American Dream as, “...a vision of a better,

deeper, richer life for every individual, regardless of the position in society which he or she may

occupy by the accident of birth,” (James Truslow Adams). What Mr. Adams coined in 1933

would serve as the underlying goal in every American’s mind, even up until today. The country

uses this dream as a role model to look up to, and aspires to be able to claim this statement true.

Although the underlying meaning has stayed the same, the dream has in fact been altered with

the times. Today, the American Dream is better seen as the subjectable idea that a successful

lifestyle is achievable for all across the world. What is not taken into account is the reality of the

current situation. This dream is not achievable for all and has never been. Discrimination based

on race, gender, and religion have pushed the American Dream farther and farther away from

those on the other end of it, and have changed it more so to a far off dream, rather than

advancing towards a future of equality.

Racism is still one of the largest problems facing the United States country today,

because of the barrier it places in the path of those trying to achieve their American Dream. One

area in which racism is highlighted the most is in the “Black Lives Matter” movement. America

exploded when George Zimmerman, a man who gunned down an unarmed black teenager in

February of 2012, was acquitted by a jury a year later. “Believing that racial prejudice had
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affected the outcome of the case, three African American activists, Alicia Garza, Patrisse

Cullors, and Opal Tometi, used the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter in social media posts expressing

their frustration with the verdict, their fear for the safety of black Americans, and the belief that

African American life had been historically and was currently devalued in the United States,”

(Issitt, Micah). Those involved in this movement believed that police officers were being racists

towards African Americans during confrontations. This new movement sparked nationwide

protests fighting against discrimination and the idea that racism was the motive behind black

males being targeting by law enforcement. How can one pursue their American Dream if they

are being unfairly treated by the justice system? Substantial evidence was linked to these claims

when, studies done by the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics and the International Centre

for Prison Studies revealed that, “African Americans, especially African American men, are

more likely to be stopped and searched by police, arrested, subjected to violent arrest or police

brutality, convicted in United States courts, and given harsher sentences than white suspects

suspected of or arrested for similar crimes,” (Issitt, Micah). Whether or not these differences are

completely because of racism, what can be concluded is that African Americans are being

unfairly treated by police officers and the justice system. Racism is keeping a large majority of

America's population from having an equal opportunity at achieving their own American Dream.

This is not the only major form of discrimination still present today.

The inequality between genders in the workplace is keeping women from unlocking their

full potential. One study conducted in India found that women have been, more often than not,

assigned to routine, clerical work, rather than being placed in positions of leadership with

decisions making tasks. Males were more opt to view female colleagues as a “weak employee
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who cannot contribute effectively,” (Tiwari, Mansi). This shows that even though women have

been infiltrating into the workforce, their male counterparts still see themselves as superior. This

is also reflected in their wages. One investigation done by the American Association of

University Women went in depth to look at the average salaries of male and female physicians.

What they found was eye-opening. The report found that the average pay gap in 2015 was

around $75,000, totaling to a loss of around $19.5 billion for female physicians (Physicians Have

One of the Worst Gender Pay Gaps, 16). Many people refuse to believe that a wage gap still

exists in society today, but it very much does. This difference takes billions and billions of

dollars out of womens pockets, that they could use to help fund their American Dream. Gender

discrimination is getting better, but more still needs to be done to allow women to have full

equality in the workplace. Gender and race are aspects people are born with. Discrimination does

not stop there. Religious tolerance in America has come a long way, but a more recent form has

emerged.

“Islamophobia” is a modern form of religious discrimination that was born out of the

tragic events on September eleventh and is holding back certain individuals from having freedom

in specific areas. This term refers to the targeting of those practicing Islam because of certain

stereotypes associating them with violence and terrorism. The largest stigma surrounding Islam

is that everyone who practices it is a terrorist, and it shows. A study conducted by the Noor

Cultural Center in 2018 found that “Forty-six percent of Canadians have an unfavourable view of

Islam--more than for any other religious tradition,” as well as the fact that, “Fifty-one percent

support government surveillance of mosques (as compared to forty-six percent of Americans),”

(Bahdi, Reem, and Azeezah Kanji). This study shows that nearly half of Canadians have this
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“irrational fear” of Muslims and are discriminating against them without even knowing it. The

terrorism that affected America was from people practicing a radical form of Islam, nowhere

near resemblant of the original form. Islam’s main focus is on peace. Infact, the word “Islam”

was derived from the Arabic word meaning “peace”. Despite this, a study conducted in Britain

found that fear of Muslims and the idea of islamophobia “is deliberately manufactured by

motivated individuals and institutions” (Bahdi, Reem, and Azeezah Kanji). This means that

certain people and groups of people are purposely targeting Muslims and spreading stereotypes.

Those practicing Islam are walking around America and silently being judged for no good

reason. Religious tolerance has gained widespread support, but this new irrational fear needs to

be stopped. Properly educating people on the values of Islam is one easy way to put an end to it.

To conclude, the American Dream has changed the most in terms of difficulty to achieve

because of different forms of discrimination based on race, gender, and religion. The “Black

Lives Matter” movement aims to destroy unfair treatment based on race in the justice system and

in the interactions with police officers. A gender pay gap is still depriving many women from

money they worked hard to earn. “Islamophobia” needs to be taken care of so that Muslims

receive fair and unprejudiced treatment in America. A future in which everyone has a fair and

equal opportunity to achieve their own American Dream is possible. Right now, discrimination is

the biggest threat to this future. Tolerance across all different races, genders, and religions will

allow America to come together and work hard towards a better tomorrow.
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Works Cited

Bahdi, Reem, and Azeezah Kanji. "What is Islamophobia?" ​University of New Brunswick Law

Journal​, Jan. 2018, p. 322+. ​Academic OneFile​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A565512080/AONE?u=ncowl&sid=AONE&xid=12c

f27f1. Accessed 13 Mar. 2019.

Issitt, Micah. “Black Lives Matter Movement: Overview.” ​Points of View: Black Lives Matter

Movement​, Jan. 2017, p. 1. ​EBSCOhost,​

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=120615801&site=pov-live.

James Truslow Adams, "America Faces 1933's Realities," New York Times (1 January 1933):

SMI.

"Physicians Have One of the Worst Gender Pay Gaps." ​Medical Economics,​ 25 Nov. 2018, p.

16. ​Academic OneFile​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A565736027/AONE?u=ncowl&sid=AONE&xid=15a

d808d. Accessed 13 Mar. 2019.

Tiwari, Mansi, et al. "Gender-Based Discrimination Faced by Females at Workplace: A

Perceptual Study of Working Females." ​Journal of Entrepreneurship Education,​ vol. 21,

no. 3, 2018. ​Academic OneFile​,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A566558913/AONE?u=ncowl&sid=AONE&xid=be4

6eac4. Accessed 13 Mar. 2019.