American Negro

In James Baldwin’s essay, “The American Dream and the American Negro,” as he reflects on the experience of black Americans, he states that the so-called “American Dream” does not apply to the “American Negro.” Baldwin says that the American white man does not take notice or appreciate the hard and free labor the American Negro did which helped to build the United States. He uses many examples to show the reader difficult plight of black men and women in America. The South is used as an example. He states that it “could not conceivably be what [it is] if it had not been (and this is still so) for the cheap labor” (Baldwin p380). The statement is bold, but effective in illustrating his point. The examples he uses throughout the essay make the essay convincing.
Baldwin states that his culture, his history, is rendered meaningless in the white society around him. The American Negro, being completely subjugated, has had his own opportunity for a unique s...