American Dream No More introduces audiences to Deon Strickland, a Lumbee scholar and college professor whose journey carries him from a childhood shaped by the racial divisions of the Jim Crow South to Harvard and a life in higher education.

Through vivid personal stories and a deep understanding of history, Deon reflects on growing up within a tri-racial Southern world and navigating systems that repeatedly complicated how he, and the Lumbee people, were seen. His story reveals the strength of family and cultural inheritance alongside the persistent weight of racism, exclusion, and inequality.

Rather than presenting achievement as a simple answer to adversity, the film asks what the American dream means when opportunity and belonging have never been equally available. Deon’s reflections illuminate both the resilience required to move through institutions not built to recognize him fully and the cultural richness he carries with him.

American Dream No More offers an intimate and accessible starting point for conversations about Lumbee identity, race, family, education, opportunity, and the ongoing struggle to belong.