joe's+final+project+page+4

DREAMS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV9plu2jLy4&mode=related&search=

Martin Luther King Jr. was never able to live to see what was made out of his dream, even though in the long run, he was able to pave the way for others to achieve their dreams.

media type="youtube" key="JdDHcW9TyPo" Dreams by the Game [|video link]

Many Americans have great aspirations, but in many cases they are not able to reach their dreams

So much stands in the way for many Americans who are unable to reach their goals and dreams in life. Poverty, inequality and racism are just a few of the many obstacles that Americans struggle with on a daily basis

media type="youtube" key="NzkdnDQ8J2g" the trailer for the highly anticipated Cabrini Heat film [|video link]

One example of when poverty creates limited opportunities occurs within the Chicago public housing system. Tenants of Chicago housing projects have to deal with dilapidated buildings, a lack of employment, a lack of good and accessible schools, and a persistence of violence. These factors make it almost impossible for tenants to break away from the projects and move across class lines. The conditions of Chicago public housing units are in some cases tangible evidence of racism. the areas are in some cases very isolated, and predominantly segregated.

"Tha Real Carter" - one of the Cabrini Green highrises in chicago [|photo link]

In many ways it seems as if many disenfranchised groups in America are ignored

Ralph Ellison captured these limitations and struggles in his 1952 novel, __The Invisible Man__. He portrays racial inequality through helplessness and invisibility. for Ellison, blacks were invisible by the choice of society and culture as a whole. He believed that people chose not to see black people, and the problems regarding race in the country, invisibility to Ellison was a "dispositon of the eye" (Invisible Man p. 3).

The Louis Armstrong song, "Black and Blue", that is featured in Ellison's novel, describes the helplessness of race and the burdens that it brings

My only sin...is in my skin What did I do...to be so black and blue -Louis Armstrong - "Black and Blue"

Page 3 Reflection