Essay by Christopher M. Whitt, Former Associate Professor of Political Science

The New Yorker magazine cover from the October 6th, 1934 issue by Harlem Renaissance artist, Charles Alston, resonates today with a similar power it must have originally held. That power is based upon different circumstances but it makes a strong impact on the eye, mind, heart and soul. There are still many in the United States today who face very real barriers to seeing their true potential recognized.

The United States was a very different place in 1934. This was well before the many triumphs in domestic struggles for civil rights which would come in upcoming decades. Despite ambition, talent or even education, many Black people were limited to menial jobs due to racist laws and practices of the time. In Alston's painting the Black janitor has to wait, until the wealthy patrons as well as musicians have cleared out of the symphony hall at the end of the night, to have his moment of imagination. In that society, pretending to conduct the empty chairs would be the closest he would get to doing it. Surely this was a fleeting moment. This dignified man would have to step down and attend to the trash and seats that needed to be put back in place.

Now in the modern-day United States, eight decades later, there have been many strides in areas of race relations. But, the bitter reality is that there are still many people who can only imagine their dreams coming close to being true. In almost all cases, the laws limiting achievement have been struck down. But now, almost more than ever, there are serious struggles for the "have-nots." There are ever widening gaps in wealth. There are fewer and fewer people at the top holding more and more of the nation's wealth. On top of that, families of color find themselves holding less and less wealth when compared to their white counterparts. As much as we laud the progress that has been made, the scene in Alston's painting could easily fall into place in our modern times. The janitor could still be a Black man or he could be a Latino immigrant. He could even be a displaced White worker. America has changed while staying the same.