What Happens to a Dream Deferred?

As children we grow up having our ideal life set in our minds. We know what we would like to become and what we want to do when we grow up. Our dreams begin very simple and as time goes on, they converge and grow complex. Everyone, African-American or other-wise, strive to achieve their “American Dream.” We mature and recognize that things are not easy. Dreams are something that we all possess but the question, “What happens to deferred dreams,” comes into play when our dreams are not fulfilled. When we put our dreams on hold, what happens to them? Do we go back to our dreams and put them into action or do we let them sit in the sun and dry until they can no longer be used?



People have been studying dreams for many centuries. Plato, a Greek philosopher viewed that dreams show a person’s true nature. I feel that repression will not wholly be gone. The values and antics that people teach their children are passed down from generation to generation. You can not know what you have not been taught. Our dreams are derived from what we know or have heard. If I dream of one day becoming a great leader, it is because I have heard of someone once being a great leader and I am mimicking what I have seen our heard. Things like repression are passed down from generation to generation. It will take centuries for our society to really become blind to race. Many say that we have made significant progress, in this I agree, but I think have we really? When I can not get a job because my first name is “Shanique”, have we made progress? Because I can not get a job because my accent is that of a southern, have we really made progress? Do you really think that we have made progress?



Right now there is black on black crime because of materialistic things. Things that are ignorant and insignificant. Our brothers are shooting each other over a “Grill”, a piece of gold that will eventually rot the teeth. My sisters are stabbing each other over “triffiling” no...