It Was All a Dream: A New Generation Confronts the Broken Promise to Black America

by Reniqua Allen

Overview

Young Black Americans have been trying to realize the promise of the American Dream for centuries and coping with the reality of its limitations for just as long. Now, a new generation is pursuing success, happiness, and freedom — on their own terms.

In It Was All a Dream, Reniqua Allen tells the stories of Black millennials searching for a better future in spite of racist policies that have closed off traditional versions of success. Many watched their parents and grandparents play by the rules, only to sink deeper and deeper into debt. They witnessed their elders fight to escape cycles of oppression for more promising prospects, largely to no avail. Today, in this post-Obama era, they face a critical turning point.

Interweaving her own experience with those of young Black Americans in cities and towns from New York to Los Angeles and Bluefield, West Virginia to Chicago, Allen shares surprising stories of hope and ingenuity. Instead of accepting downward mobility, Black millennials are flipping the script and rejecting White America's standards. Whether it means moving away from cities and heading South, hustling in the entertainment industry, challenging ideas about gender and sexuality, or building activist networks, they are determined to forge their own path.

Compassionate and deeply reported, It Was All a Dream is a celebration of a generation's doggedness against all odds, as they fight for a country in which their dreams can become a reality.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781568585864
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	01/08/2019
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	1,221,383
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Reniqua Allen is an Eisner Fellow at the Nation Institute and a former fellow at New America and Demos. She has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Teen Vogue, and more, and has produced for WNYC, PBS, and MSNBC. Allen lives in the Bronx.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 We Out (The Reverse Migration) 11

Millennial Moment: Katrina 36

Chapter 2 Don't Double Down on Stupid (Student Debt) 39

Millennial Moment: Two Lives 63

Chapter 3 Survival (The Informal Economy) 67

Millennial Moment: Authentically Me 99

Chapter 4 Blue Collars (The Working Class) 103

Millennial Moment: Forty Acres 135

Chapter 5 Painted Walls and Temples (Housing) 139

Millennial Moment: That Craving 168

Chapter 6 Luck (Black Professionals) 177

Millennial Moment: 5-0 207

Chapter 7 Fame (Black in Hollywood) 211

Millennial Moment: Russian Roulette 237

Chapter 8 Still In Love (Relationships) 243

Millennial Moment: Catch-22 273

Chapter 9 Breathe (Politics and Activism) 277

Millennial Moment: The Day After 304

Conclusion 309

Acknowledgments 317

Notes 321

Index 343

Editorial Reviews

"In her revelatory new book, It Was All A Dream, Reniqua Allen amplifies voices that America needs desperately to hear. She explores the lives of Black millennials who strive for success - or sometimes basic survival - with insight, empathy and candor. Pinned between the unfinished business of the civil rights movement and the economic, political and racial rifts of the post-Obama era, their stories are both heartbreaking and hopeful, the pent-up demand of a new generation demanding what has always been its right: liberation."—Jessica Bruder, author of Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century


"Reniqua Allen strikes a fine balance between the personal histories of ambitious Black millennials and the systems in place that threaten their mobility. With acute detail to their location, background,
and motive, Allen's sharp journalistic skills are center stage, crafting reportage,
cultural commentary, and personal anecdotes into a thought-provoking book that will add to our discussions about race, capitalism, education, and self-actualization."—Morgan Jerkins, author of This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female,and Feminist in (White) America


"Reniqua Allen's must-read book takes us beyond the statistics and stereotypes, telling the stories of young Black Americans who are creating, working, fighting, loving, and surviving. Allen's vital and empathetic reportage shares their voices-and we would be wise to listen."—Heather McGhee, Former President and DistinguishedSenior Fellow, Demos


"All comfortable notions about the American Dream are shoved aside as Reniqua Allen lays out the harsh and often disturbing challenges facing today's young African-Americans. A powerful, compelling, and important book."—Bob Herbert, author, filmmaker, and former op-edcolumnist for the New York Times


"At a time when every aspect of the millennial experience has been dissected ad nauseam, It Was All a Dream offers a fresh perspective. It's an honest account-buoyed by statistics-of the struggles of black young adults and the disparate racial outcomes...


In the aftermath of the first black presidency, It Was All a Dream is a vital book, a necessary reminder that this post-racial generation is anything but. It's a reality that America will have to grapple with or risk making the American Dream a broken promise for the black youth of Generation Z, as well."—The Washington Post


"The Great Recession crippled an entire generation, and black millennials were among the hardest hit. Allen interviewed dozens of her peers for an honest and occasionally heartbreaking look at young black twenty- and thirtysomethings trying to succeed in a nation that has often inhibited them from achieving their dreams."—BuzzFeed

From the Publisher

2018-09-25

Black millennials offer candid views of the challenges they face.

In her first book, journalist and broadcast producer Allen, an Eisner Fellow at the Nation Institute, investigates how the enduring myth of the American dream relates to young blacks between the ages of 18 and 30: "folks," she writes, "who looked like me." The American dream—"the idea that anyone can succeed and enjoy a prosperous life through hard work"—applies, the author asserts, only "to a limited number of people." For oppressed and marginalized blacks, the dream has been largely unattainable. Has that changed, Allen asks, for a new generation? What does upward mobility look like for them? How do they express their own dreams? Drawing on interviews with 75 millennials as well as studies, surveys, and articles, the author recounts stories of defeat and dashed hopes from blacks who feel that the American dream "wasn't and isn't for them." Among their frustrations is education: Many believe that a college degree is essential to their future success, accumulating huge debt to pay for schooling. More than 80 percent of Blacks who complete bachelor's degrees have debt upon graduating, compared with 64 percent of whites. Moreover, a college education does not ensure employment: "The unemployment rate for Black college graduates is the same as for White high school graduates." For those who manage to pursue a professional career, the workplace often feels unwelcoming. As one woman told her, "Black millennials do not have stability and security" in their jobs; they are often paid less than whites, are not offered career guidance and mentorship, and "often walk a tightrope between the hood and the elite." Home ownership eludes many blacks, as well, with redlining and predatory lenders victimizing prospective buyers. Frustrated with their efforts to hold on to middle-class status, some blacks are redefining what success means to them, rejecting ‘the White-picket fence version of the dream" in favor of "what the dream means at its core: freedom."

Sad, revealing testimony to the continuing effects of racism and inequality.

Kirkus Reviews

12/01/2018

Allen, a fellow at the Nation Institute, explores the ways in which black millennials aspire to the American Dream. Although black millennials have fewer opportunities than their parents and white counterparts, she argues that they are successful in different ways. Additionally, she aims to provide a counterpoint to the media's focus on white millennials. Through a series of interviews and her own personal experiences, Allen uncovers her subjects' thoughts on education, marriage, activism, home ownership as well as the challenges they face. Allen briefly delves into the history of each topic in order to provide background and a contrast to her subjects' experiences. Work is a central focus, and the author includes interviews with blue-collar employees, office workers, and Hollywood creatives. Interludes between chapters allow black millennials to tell their stories in their own voices on topics such as incarceration, identity, and immigration. Allen retains a sense of optimism about her subjects and believes that despite their challenges, they will be okay. VERDICT A thoughtful account depicting the lives of a marginalized yet optimistic generation, recommended for readers interested in race and identity.—Rebekah Kati, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Library Journal

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