SEA OF OPPORTUNITY

Sea of Opportunity

America has been known as the melting pot of diversity since the 1780s and continues to grow racially and religiously. Americans share a similar strive for their dreams and are more unified than anticipated. Freedom, equality, and justice are few of the many foundations that our flag is ground upon. Though these beliefs do not apply to everyone in America. Diverse voices will go through more in order to achieve the American dream due to discrimination, this often leads to motivation to prove they are worthy of their own creed.

Diverse individuals in America have less of a voice than the average white male. They are not blessed with the same opportunity and are constanly trying to prove themselves in a society in which they are not respected. The United States is taking on more diverse individuals but the standards are not changing. The Washington Post states, “One-sixth of the country that remained almost completely white all the way to 2000, but is now beginning the gradual change to a multicultural mix.”The U.S. is blooming with diversity which means we need to make a change. Our country has been more exposed to diversity but we still follow the same creed. The U.S. consists of people who all want the same thing. We all strive to reach our goals and are fighting for the American dream. If the American dream was no longer a competition, this country would be more united.

I decided to showcase this through an art piece. My painting shows two men, one white, one black swimming in the ocean. The men appear to be racing towards half an American flag. The white man is dressed in diving gear and appears to be moving along effortlessly. While the black man is farther behind struggling. You can notice that the black man has no face and no gear. I decided to paint this because I wanted to show how people in society are racing for the same things but a white man is at an advantage. It is noticeable that the painting gets darker towards the American flag and wanted to represent how when people in America make the American dream a negative competition and if it wasn't a competition there would be more peace. I decided to draw a women's legs in the corner of the picture to that women are in the sea of opportunity, but they are not participating. I decided to express this through art because art could also be perceived in many different ways and I wanted to share my message in a less obvious way. 

Works Cited

D, Jordan. "How do Diverse Americans Understand the American Creed?" Writing Our Future, 14 Feb. 2019, writingourfuture.nwp.org/americancreed/responses/1375-how-do-diverse-americans-understand-the-american-creed. Accessed 7 June 2019.

Keating, Dan. "The Increasingly Diverse United States of America." Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/how-diverse-is-america/?noredirect=on. Accessed 7 June 2019.

Pew Research Center. 8 May 2019, www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/05/08/americans-see-advantages-and-challenges-in-countrys-growing-racial-and-ethnic-diversity/.