Many years ago, Horatio Alger proposed that any American who was ambitious, determined to succeed, willing to work hard, and able to mobilize his or her personal skills and abilities toward achieving social and economic advancement would do precisely that (in Colombo, Cullen, and Lisle, 268). Anyone, even Alger's "Ragged Dick" the shoeshine boy, could become a wealthy (or at least very comfortable) member of the American upper-class or the middle-class, working their "way to fame and fortune" (in Colombo, et al, 269). It is this myth of the attainability of the American dream that has for generations, according to Colombo, Cullen and Lisle (261) in Rereading America, dominated the domestic political ethos and lead countless Americans to believe fervently that advancement is simply a matter of personal determination. The reality, as several authors whose works are included in the text demonstrate, is radically different: race and culture as well as class all have the effect of determining who earns what, how much one can earn, and what opportunities are available for advancement.
For example, Harlon Dalton (in Colombo, et al, 278 -279) directly challenges Alger's beliefs and states that success in life has a great deal to do with such variables as "pedigree, race, class background, gender, national origin, sexual orientation - in short, with anything beyond our individual control." Certainly, African-Americans, including Tony Cade Bambera (275), are aware that being a member of a minority group is a barrier to certain types of advancement despite the fact that decades of affirmative action programs have been undertaken to level the economic playing field for minorities.
Interestingly, Ken Hamblin (285) believes that a generation of "angry white men" has emerged in response to the programs that have been directed towards minorities and which have in his view ultimately failed. Hamblin (292), an African-American, mainta...