The Black Panther - Essay Example

However, time and events have impacted the American Dream as well as the nature of people that have believed in it. During the last several decades, the transforming nature of the American Dream has demonstrated the development of the American character, which has left many analysts and observes quite mystified, worried and at times utterly annoyed (Blanc, 2003). However, principally the American Dream is said to be deeply ingrained in a utopian conviction relative to the world’s perfectibility, which for all practical purposes could just be present in the eye of the beholder.

But in the context of the American psyche, worldly imperfection ought to be removed and rectified by adopting measures through individual and collective actions. American citizens have developed a reputation for reacting quickly, spotting deficiencies and are known to make efforts in finding the right options in order to endeavor to endlessly strive towards achieving perfection. However, critics argue that the American Dream has remained a myth for working class Blacks in America, at much higher levels as compared to working class whites.

A major proportion of the Black population is characterized with suffering from poverty and low pay, which is evident from the fact that a large percentage of Blacks are still classified as poor. Unemployment amongst Blacks is double as compared to whites and they stand twice the number of chances of dying early from diseases and crime at every stage in life. It was in view of these circumstances that the Black Panther Party for Self Defense became very powerful and popular during the 1950s and 1960s and embodied the highest level in terms of the large scale rebellions that swept across the US during this period, against the prevalence of poverty and racism.

It can be said that the extent and severity of poverty and racism presently experienced by Blacks in America is not much different from what it was during the 1950s and 1960s. It is also true that the numbers of affluent people amongst Blacks have increased significantly and there is now a Black minority that has also entered the elite class in US society. The ruling parties during the 1950s and 1960s had acted in response to the revolts during the 1950s and 1960s by taking conscious decisions of developing the Black middle classes in order to prevent the revolutionary movement from escalating further.

More essentially, the move was to develop a realistic adaptation of the American Dream for Blacks in America. In fact, the Second World War had impacted the civil rights movement in America during this period. The large numbers of Black soldiers who had fought in favor of American imperialist policies were surprised at the hypocrisy surrounding the war propaganda. On the one side American capitalists fought to remove racism practiced by the Nazis and on the other hand there was cruel racism being practiced in their own country.

Moreover, the economic prosperity in America implied that larger numbers of Blacks were relocating to cities and becoming part of the working class. By the year 1970, almost 75 percent of the Black population in America was living in cities, and in view of their large majority their confidence