What does it mean to achieve socioeconomic and racial justice in the United States, and what role can the postsecondary education system play in achieving these aims? Unfortunately, justice is often an elusive concept as it relates to educational achievement. In this paper, the author argues that, to understand the meaning of racial and socioeconomic justice and the role postsecondary systems play in achieving it, we must first understand the philosophical structure that underlies the key narrative of the American dream, the narrative that equal opportunity is available to all and that dreams and aspirations are achievable with hard work. The author proposes a system that confronts our love affair with the American dream, which is often caught up in notions of colorblindness and merit, so that we can deal effectively with the cumulative effects of past and ongoing inequality. The expansion and improvement of postsecondary education will only go so far without this kind of confrontation.