America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. It carries with it the motto of the American Dream, which offers anyone who comes here the opportunity to educate themselves in order to create a successful future for themselves and their families. This sounds like the perfect society, however it is no secret that minority groups don't necessarily reap the same benefits that their white counterparts enjoy. Throughout history minorities in America, especially African Americans, have been victims to prejudice, poverty and inequalities. Not much of an American Dream. But that same community who fought for civil rights, who took part in marches, and watched the television as sit-ins were taking place, that community is now part of another community as well; that community is now part of the elder population.
Clearly circumstances must have improved if they were able to endure their situations long enough to stay here. Or were issues so terrible elsewhere that problems in the US seemed petty? Throughout the semester I plan to look at the aging African American community. I hope to understand the benefits to living in this melting pot of a society, as well as the disadvantages to being a minority group. Maybe because I come from a diverse background where my father is black and my mother is white, but the changing dynamics that this community has experienced is so interesting to me and so unfamiliar.
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