I believe every person has the personal responsibility to puruse their dreams. However, we cannot deny that Black families have one-tenth the wealth of white familes. We don't start off on equal footing. And, if we did, then yes personal responsibility would be all we needed to overcome inequality.

We have less Black men as doctors than in the 1960s, the same proportion of Black homeowners as in the 1930s, the same racial wealth gap as in the 1960s. Many Black kids see their dreams die through no fault of their own.

We don't live in an equal society so striving for something in of itself won't make someone's dream come true.

Racists have long used the "personal responsibility trope" to gaslight us. To believe that personal responsibility is all at play is to believe that Black people are inherently inferior. But, the statisics show that we are paid less even though Black women are the most educated. Black children are deprived of fair educational opportunities. All of these factors add up to gatekeeping to me. But, I completely respect if you disagree. ♥︎