Essay Sample on Black and Poor in USA: Barriers to Success

Introduction

In the United States of America (USA), being from the Black community is in itself a barrier to success. Being Black and poor is tantamount to failure in life in the USA because such individuals often experience financial difficulties and racial discrimination, which limits their access to better education, health, and life, which are crucial in enabling success. Further, the chances of success for Black, male, and poor students in the USA are significantly low because such students often end up dropping out of schools and engaging in social vices such as robbery, drug addiction, etc. The pact: three young men make a promise and fulfill a dream is a book that gives a detailed understanding of the thin line between success and failure for black, male, and poor students in the USA. The book is set in New Jersey, where three young African-American men, i.e., George Jenkins, Sampson Davis, and Rameck Hunt, resided, and studied (Davis et al., 10). The book revolves around the lives of the three young men who grew up in an environment clouded with violence, failure, and ignorance. While some of the men knew that they wanted to go to college and become successful in life right from a tender age, some had no plans for college because none of their close friends and family had ever attained a college education. However, the three men were determined to succeed and even made a promise to each other that one day they will not only graduate in college, but they will graduate as doctors. While financial constraints remained their major hindrance to become doctors, they got a breakthrough through a scholarship by Seton Hall University (Davis et al., 11). They continued to face more challenges in the course of their college life and even contemplated dropping out of college but eventually managed to overcome the obstacles and graduated as doctors. In this paper, the primary focus will be on George Jenkins and the significant factors that contributed to his success. More specifically, this paper will focus on factors such as mentors, role models, and personal characteristics, such as goal orientation.

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One of the major factors that kept George on the path to success was his role models. Role models are individuals whose behaviors, achievements, and success can be emulated by others, more so the younger individuals. The first role model that George encountered, and to an extent the most significant drive to his success was the dentist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark where his mother had taken him for have his teeth aligned with the use of braces (Davis et al., 13). During the visit, the dentist noted George's curiosity and offered to teach him about his tools and how they were used. The dentist also taught him how to name, count, and classify his teeth, which left him perplexed. The encounter with the dentist left George excited and created his desire to become a dentist. In the statement "That was when I began thinking about becoming a dentist someday," George asserts that were it not because of his encounter with the dentist, he could not have desired to be a dentist (Davis et al., 13). Even though he could hardly recall the dentist's name, George states that "he gave me a dream" which further reinstates the fact that the dentist was a significant role model in George's life, without which, the dream to become a dentist could not have been born (Davis et al., 13).

Another person who acted as a role model in George's life and was a significant factor for his success was his mother, Ella Jenkins Mack. Ella was divorced when George and his brother Garland were at a tender age. Most of the time, she single-handedly struggled to raise the boys. As a result of her hard work, resilience, and determination, she managed to secure a decent and better home for the boys and herself after years of living in public housing. In the statement, "but her determination and consistency stabilized our lives," George acknowledges the power of his mother's determination and consistency in making their lives better and decent (Davis et al., 14). In a way, George desires to emulate his mother's determination and consistency traits in his life. He viewed his mother as a strong woman who he never at any one point saw life breaking her down (Davis et al., 14). His mother served as evidence that hard work, determination, and consistency pays in life. Without her mother in the picture, likely, George could not have learned about this hard work, commitment, and persistence. These values contributed significantly to the success of George.

In addition to role models, mentors played a critical role in ensuring that James kept away from trouble and eventually his success. A mentor is a trusted person who has a wide range of experience and wisdom in specific aspects of life and helps to guide a person with lesser experience and knowledge than them to achieve their goals and desires. One of the mentors who played a significant role in George's life was his third-grade teacher, Viola Johnson. Miss Johnson was responsible for making George comfortable in school, and even though he was from a poor background, he never felt deprived or insufficient. In his statement, George says that "I loved school. My third-grade teacher, Viola Johnson, was largely responsible for that". Often, Miss Johnson encouraged her students to think beyond their challenges of being poor and being from a community where very few people attained a college education. She regularly insisted that "everybody has a chance to go to college. Never say you can't go because of money. Get that degree. You must get that degree" (Davis et al., 18). Miss Johnson has a genuine desire to see her students succeed, and her dedication to that course was evident even from the outsiders. George says that even though he lost touch with Miss Johnson, he never forgot her. In the statement, "she made me curious about the world I had yet to see. That was the curiosity the dentist saw in me..." (Davis et al., 19). Without Miss Johnson, it is evident that George would not have developed the curiosity which created his dream to become a dentist.

Another person who played the role of a mentor to George was Mr. Jackson, his friend Shahid Jackson's dad. George says that "he was the closest thing to a father I ever knew" (Davis et al., 16). Mr. Jackson was a bodyguard to stars such as Muhammad Ali, among others, and therefore, he traveled frequently and would often shower George and his sons with gifts when he returned from the trips. He took the three boys for fishing, to the gym, and even introduced Portuguese food to George for the first time. In him, George felt loved. Mr. Jackson always believed in George, and even when George informed him that he had enrolled in the pre-dental program at Seton Hall, he was not surprised. From that point on during their conversations involving George's future, Mr. Jackson would often start the conversation with "when you become a doctor...." (Davis et al., 16). Mr. Jackson believes in George even when he did not believe in himself. He was an essential element in the success of George because he made George believe in himself and acted as a source of encouragement to him.

In addition to role models and mentors, George was goal-oriented. Goal orientation is the level to which an individual focuses on their actions and the results of their actions. George was keen in making friends with people with whom they shared the same goals. He kept away from friends who would likely to cause him trouble and those who did not like school. His friends Sam and Rameck, even though at some point they were swayed by their other friends, their goals remained aligned to George's. After high school, even though George had a girlfriend that he liked and he was faithful, he sacrificed his girlfriend for his dream of being a dentist. He wanted to remain focused and did not want any distractions, and thus, he opted to break up with his girlfriend (Davis et al., 76). His goal-oriented character made it possible for him and his friends to remain focused. Without the character, they could have quickly dropped out of college because of the various challenges they faced.

Conclusion

From the analysis of the factors that contributed to George's success, it is evident that adults and the society, in general, have a critical role in shaping the lives of children, especially those living in areas prone to violence, crime, drug abuse, among other vices. Adults must take up the roles of being mentors and role models that children can emulate and admire. Without role models and mentors in the society, it is almost impossible for children to believe in themselves and see possibilities of success. In the end, every individual in the society has a responsibility to ensure the success of children, especially those in marginalized regions.

Works Cited

Davis, Sampson, et al. The pact: three young men make a promise and fulfill a dream. Penguin, 2003.