A Research Note on Dreams and Aspirations of Black Families

In the postwar period, the dream of American families has not only been a decent home, as proclaimed in the 1949 Housing Act, but for a suburban house surrounded by green space. The dream has not only been a high school education for their children but, for growing numbers, a college degree. The dream has not been just for a job but for a managerial or high tech position. The postwar affluence of the 1960s and beyond has made many feel they should be able to fulfil this dream. The media daily portray the dimensions of fulfillment of their dream the ranch or split-level house, the three-car garage, and the educated, well-off family. The black family has been equally exposed to this and has assimilated the rhetoric of the civil rights movement that proclaims the doors of opportunity are now open to them.