Now her new barrier is race. Since she was black she was not able to easily obtain residence in a neighborhood where "white picket fenced" houses were, because those houses were in white neighborhoods, where black people weren't wanted. When Mama reveals she made the choice to buy a house in a white neighborhood, Ruth exclaims, "Clybourne Park? Mama aint no black people living in Clybourne Park" (Hansberry 72). This shine's a light on the barrier to Mama's dream. But mama was persistent about owning the house, and dealing with the "unwelcoming" committee of the community. Commenting on Ruth's statement about their not being black people living in Clybourne Park, Mama persists, "Well, I guess there's going to be some now (Hansberry 72). She overcame the barrier by giving her son, the protagonist, the responsibility to make the choice of moving forward with the moving process into the house with the "white picket fence." The only thing now standing in the way is the "Welcoming Committee." Mama looks into Walters eyes to show the extent of the ongoing situation. She handed the power to determine the next step in the family's life to Walter. As Travis is commanded to leave the room, Mama then goes on to say, "No. Travis, you stay right here. And you make him understand what you doing, Walter Lee. You teach him good. Like Willy Harris taught you. You show where our five generations done come to. Go ahead, son--" (Hansberry 119). This shows Mama was being persistent, and moving forward with achieving her dream and teaching Walter how to do the same, and pass it on to his son.
What happens to a dream deferred, a question given to us through "Harlem," a poem written by the great Poet Langston Hughes. The story, "A Raisin the Sun" is a direct reference to Hughes poem. The theme of being persistent to obtain your dream in the story has a correlation to the poetics of "Harlem.
