American Politics & REP
Email: zcwalker@umich.edu
Dissertation Title: “When Hard Work Isn't Enough: Race Inequality and the Politics of Achieving the American Dream”
Committee: Vincent Hutchings (Chair), Nick Valentino, Nancy Burns, Rob Sellers
Summary: My dissertation and book project, When Hard Work Isn’t Enough: Race, Inequality, and the Politics of Achieving the American Dream, examines the prevalence, and attitudinal implications of the American Dream narrative in Black public opinion. Specifically, I explore the relationship between support for this narrative and the endorsement of anti-Black attitudes, awareness of structural racism, and efforts to ameliorate racial barriers in society.
I received funding from the Russell Sage Foundation Dissertation Research Grant and a predoctoral fellowship from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (Ford Foundation) to support my dissertation work. In my dissertation, I empirically test the novel claim that the beloved American Dream narrative (that is, the notion that anyone who works hard enough will achieve economic mobility) reinforces the existing racial hierarchy. I expand on previous work in American politics about the importance of core values like meritocratic beliefs and individualism by situating the American Dream narrative in the context of Blacks’ historic and ongoing exclusion from the resources and institutions that promote economic mobility and wealth. Despite this ongoing practice of exclusion, national data from sources like the ANES and the GSS show a surprisingly large proportion of Black Americans believe hard work pays off and that their groups’ own lack of hard work is a key factor driving racial disparities. Given evidence from economists and sociologists demonstrating that upward mobility is rare for Blacks (even when compared to other racial minorities), I argue Black Americans’ confidence in the American Dream is based not in reality but in delusion. Thus, Black Americans who believe hard work is sufficient for economic mobility in America are also more likely to maintain other, similarly erroneous beliefs including the belief that individual factors (like behavior and attitude) are a greater cause of racial inequality than structural factors. Using analyses of closed and open-ended survey data as well as semi-structured interviews, I show that Black Americans who believe the American Dream can be achieved through sheer hard work are less cognizant of racial barriers and endorse more negative stereotypes about the work ethic of their racial group. Further, those Black Americans who embrace the American Dream narrative are less likely to support racially re-distributive economic policies like reparations but more likely to believe Black-owned business will eventually secure racial equality without further government intervention.
My project interrupts existing literature’s conclusions about race and meritocratic beliefs by showing that many Black Americans apply inaccurate ideas about economic mobility to their interpretations of racial inequality. If an informed electorate is key for maintaining democracy, the American Dream narrative’s proliferation of false beliefs presents a major impediment to Black political participation.
