I hear you, TSwizzle. I learned quickly what side of the line I was on. That “land of opportunity” myth looks great on TV, but when you grow up Black in America, you realize the rules are different, and the playing field was tilted long before I ever set foot on it.
One example: I’ve worked at the same company for 25 years, taken on countless responsibilities, and never received a title change or a raise to reflect that. Meanwhile, two white women were hired after me, and after completing a single task, they were promoted into corporate positions. Anecdotal? Maybe. But far from rare, stories like mine happen every day. And to this day, those same women still rely on me for the majority of their work.
At one point, management actually demoted me to warehouse work, claiming my role wasn’t essential. That is, until those same women (not in protest, but in practicality) made it clear I was a key part of their operations. Management reluctantly asked me to return to my previous duties.
What you’re describing, the hierarchy, the gatekeeping, the illusion of mobility, isn’t new. It’s just more visible now. America has always had tiers. But more people are waking up to the fact that this country doesn’t run on merit, it runs on carefully managed access and the preservation of privilege for those deemed part of the in-group. Or as I put it: this system protects those tied to the “right kind” of blood that built the empire. The rest of us? We were always expected to serve beneath it.
Your story matters because it shows that even those who come here legally, with skills and ambition, still hit the wall, that moment when you realize this place isn’t broken. It’s working exactly as intended. Some of us never had the chance to believe in the American Dream. We were born under a ceiling that started pressing down before we even learned how to speak.
Even someone like Jay-Z, who went from selling drugs to becoming a billionaire, still hits structural limits. He can buy into a franchise, but he’ll never own the league. He can own his masters, but the platforms and distribution networks still belong to someone else. That’s the difference between symbolic success and systemic control.
And for anyone wondering why I’m still at this company, it’s simple. I had to work ten times as hard in the beginning just to get where I am, and I’m not about to start all over again with a new group of white folks who’d rather overlook that work than recognize it.
And just to say it preemptively , I agree with anyone who points out that classism plays a major role. But to believe racism isn’t also a factor? That’s delusional, in my opinion.
