My Mother’s Dream for Her Son, and All Black Children, is a moving essay. Hilton Als grew up as an African American living in New York facing systemic racism daily. At a young age, he was confused about why his mother prevented him from being a kid and why his life was at risk.

Als says, “Like any number of black boys in those neighborhoods, I grew up in a matrilineal society, where I had been taught the power—the necessity—of silence.” His mother taught him the importance of staying silent. This is significant because he was living through the late 1900s. The tension between the black and white communities grew. Als mentions how detective John Rattley and Commander Lloyd Sealy were both black men. However, Rattley shot a black boy and Sealy ramped police force in major black communities. These were powerful black men who are enforcing the white administration, turning their back to their community to gain respect in the white community. The same community that spent centuries treating their black ancestors as objects. This quote is significant because of Als’s mother’s worries for her son. While she doesn’t want him to become like Rattley and Sealy, she fears for her son’s life. Due to this fear, they have to sacrifice their voice and fear the ability to stand up for themselves. In a way, it is like his mother protecting him, by turning their heads away from the troubles of the black community. They have to give up their natural rights of being American because of their skin.

Als says in his essay, “The world around us was not the one we had worked hard to achieve but the quiet, degraded world that our not-country said we deserved. We couldn’t keep anything, the elders said, not even ourselves.” African Americans have never been able to obtain an equal status as the white community. This quote is significant because the society they live in, will try and prevent them from living a comfortable life. America isn’t a country that serves African Americans. Also, at the end where Als states “We couldn’t keep nothing, the elders said, not even ourselves.” This is referring to the civil rights movement. African Americans spend centuries fighting for their rights. Even if they work as hard or even comply with the white administration, they will never be tried by society as equal. The society they live in purposely prevents any success for the black community.

“ In addition to her full-time job—and, often, a second job—there was the work that went into feeding you, listening to you, and making sure no one laughed at you or cracked you in the face because you had dreams.” I found this segment of the essay stood out to me because Als grew up without a father, this meant that his mother was the sole breadwinner of the family. She became both a mother and father for Als and because she is an African American single mother Als feared that he wouldn’t be able to protect his mother. I found this interesting because Als wanted to protect his mother against the chaos of society. But in his mother’s point of view, he was all she had and she wanted to shield him from the world that feeds on the vulnerability of African Americans.