They are still slaves to a white-bred social system that silences them. In this case, Jody is the white man that enslaves Janie.
Jody is again equated to his white counterparts in the scene with the buzzards at the mule's funeral. After Jody and the town gather for his eulogy, the mule is left for the buzzards, but "the flock had to wait the white-headed leader" (96). There is an obvious parallel here between Jody and the white-headed buzzard. The physical image of a white headed buzzard symbolizes Jody's metaphoric white head. Jody is the white buzzard that the town has waited for. The narrator implies, and at the same time resents, that the town needed to wait for a white-headed leader in order to build a city and to advance their own situation. The "decorum" (97) surrounding the buzzards" treatment of the situation also seems absurd. It seems odd that animals would be following such formal rules. It may be said then, that Jody has been overly devoted to the decorum of his mayor-ship - that he has become consumed with his own power. Like the white slave masters, Jody has monopolized power and made the townspeople slaves to his stature. .
Jody's attempts at creating an upscale black neighborhood are shocking to the citizens of Eatonville. While many are stunned by his valiant efforts, they are at the same time resentful of his power. In many ways, Jody is portrayed as an enemy of the people. The narrator notes that, "They bowed down to him rather, because he was all of these things, and then again he was all these things because the town bowed down" (80). The idea of bowing down implies that the townspeople worship Jody, and in doing so acknowledge their inferiority to him. At the same time, it is implied that the townspeople do not know any better because they have accepted their own inferiority and in doing so have rejected the possibility of progress. The narrator criticizes that Jody achieves his god-like status just because no one else has the nerve to take matters into their own hands.
Class hand in hand with racism help in causing the disruption of attaining the Dream. ... Goals are always a good thing to have to give inspiration and hope, but when the goals are unattainable there can be serious side effects that affect all of society. ... In trying to achieve any goal or aspiration there are certain things that have to be used. ...