The American Dream (review of American Street by Ibi Zoboi)

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“But then I realize that everyone is climbing their own mountain here in America. They are tall and mighty and they live in the hearts and everyday lives of the people.”
― Ibi Zoboi, American Street, 2017
“We have to become everything that we want. Consume it. Like our lwas.”
― Ibi Zoboi, American Street, 2017
“We fold our immigrant selves into this veneer of what we think is African American girlhood. The result is more jagged than smooth. This tension between our inherited identities and our newly adopted selves filters into our relationships with other girls and the boys we love, and how we interact with the broken places around us.”
― Ibi Zoboi, American Street, 2017
“So trying to come to America from the wrong country is a crime?”
- Ibi Zoboi, American Street, 2017
“Creole and Haiti stick to my insides like glue—it’s like my bones and muscles. But America is my skin, my eyes, and my breath. According to my papers, I’m not even supposed to be here. I’m not a citizen. I’m a ‘resident alien.’ The borders don’t care if we’re all human and my heart pumps blood the same as everyone else’s.”
- Ibi Zoboi, American Street, 2017
“My cousins are hurting. My aunt is hurting. My mother is hurting. And there is no one here to help. How is this the good life, when even the air in this place threatens to wrap its fingers around my throat? In Haiti, with all its problems, there was always a friend or a neighbor to share in the misery. And then, after our troubles were tallied up like those points at the basketball game, we would celebrate being alive. But here, there isn’t even a slice of happiness big enough to fill up all these empty houses, and broken buildings, and wide roads that lead to nowhere and everywhere. Every bit of laughter, every joyous moment, is swallowed up by a deep, deep sadness.”
― Ibi Zoboi, American Street, 2017
“My first meal in America is one that I make for myself and eat by myself. I wonder if this is a sign of things to come.”
― Ibi Zoboi, American Street, 2017

This book is good at realistically portraying how messed up the system is, how messed up the world is. People come to America from a broken place, only to find America is broken in a different way—and a lot of the same ways. The whole world is broken.

People who come to America are forced to find a way to fit into a place that is intent on rejecting them. It’s a losing game. It’s not how things should be.

Honestly, America is big, and not everywhere is the worst of it, and sometimes people do find their dreams and people who love them. But the whole system is screwed up. And it would be impossible to fix it; every person (or at least most) would have to decide to stand up break the generational cycle of racism, abuse, prejudice, and injustice.

I want my children to be proud to be Americans, because I want being American to mean understanding that everyone should get to be proud of who they are, too.

Comments

  1. AngelSeptember 17, 2022 at 9:24 PM

    I love the wording you used "...intent on rejecting them". It truly is. As someone who dreams of teaching in a different country, I constantly have to listen to older people tell me that it would be much better to stay here because America is free and I live in the best country. Those same people then stand against things like legal abortions and the freedom of speech for certain political groups which confuses me. If America is a country where only you; a financially stable, (insert political party), white man, can be truly free, then I do not feel obligated to preserve that "freedom" for myself. It baffles me even more when my parents or other immigrant families say the same thing because, coming to this country, they were not treated fairly or given the slightest ounce of compassion and respect. Sorry I'm on a ramble now but that was just a great way to put it. ^^^

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