Why Black Gen Z Folks Can’t Envision Their Future or the ‘American Dream’

Your twenties are supposed to be the best time of your life: Fresh out of college, with little to no real responsibilities (or bills) — you just hope that everything will be alright. There’s just one problem, however: Young Black Americans can’t see their future, and what’s worse is many don’t have faith that anything will get better.

Can you blame them, though…? Between the COVID-19 pandemic, political assassinations, global warming and the price of groceries reaching an all time high, younger Millennials and Gen Z feel unsupported, unheard and hopeless… the complete opposite of the American dream.

Robert Hudson III graduated from Howard University in 2024. And he told us he’s noticing changes within his career that make him uneasy. “A lot of these jobs are being shipped off to other places out the country because the labor is cheap,” he explained of the film industry. Hudson believes it’s an issue of economics, especially since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

“We’ve never seen people be fired before like this, which makes it a lot harder to get jobs,” he continued. “The pay that people get does not equal to the rising cost of living like it used to be.” In September, national unemployment rose to 4.3 percent from 4.2 percent in July, according to Reuters. The president continues to promise that the economy is under control, but it’s often Black folks who bear the weight of it all.

“Historically speaking, we’ve always had — to say the least — the short end of the stick,” the 23-year-old continued, pointing to slavery, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement. Now, the struggles of the younger Black generation remain unprecedented, just in different ways.

A clear sign of the times is urban cities like New York City — historically a hub for young people, misfits and artists — becoming one of the most expensive cities in the world. New York University student Meena Jalloh, 21, said it’s this economic pressure that’s weighing on her as she completes her studies.

“It’s scary. And then [while] living in New York City, you have to pay rent,” she told us. “I’m scared that I won’t find a job. I’m scared that my job might lay me off one day out of nowhere with Trump being president.” More than one million Americans were laid off or furloughed this year due to government cuts and the federal shutdown.

Millions more Americans will go without food now that SNAP benefits are paused starting Saturday (Nov. 1). Two federal judges have ruled for the president to resume SNAP funds, and one mother in Oklahoma told The Root her household can’t afford more bad news.

“My household benefits greatly off SNAP,” 24-year-old Savannah Miller said. She and her boyfriend both work full time but rely on government assistance to feed their young son. “We’re not being paid enough to where we can survive off of just our income,” she continued.

Miller, a white woman, said the current state of the economy makes her fear for her child, who is half Black. “I feel beyond guilty that I am not able to save as much,” she continued. Dealing with a high cost of living has completely derailed her plans for her son’s future. She knows the economy mixed with growing political tension in the nation will have grave impacts on his life.

“I fear that my son will feel like he never belongs,” she said. “I fear that my son will not have access to what the older generation had access to, and that’s savings.”