African American Of African Americans

Racism and hate have played a major role in United States history. These words have been the fuel behind slavery, inhuman treatment, and genocides. The Kosovo, Native Americans, Japanese, and African Americans are some of the prominent races that have been affected by racism and hate. The U.S. have given reparations to the victims of Kosovo, Native American, and Japanese, but no reparation have been given to African Americans. For five hundred years, the U.S. forced African Americans into slavery. As an African American woman in 2013, the question “ What ever happen to reparations for African Americans?” lingers in my mind. Don’t we deserve reparation just as the Native

Reparation is a term defined as “the making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.” How does this exactly apply when we’re talking about discrimination and segregation? Ta-Nehisi Coates presents “The Case for Reparations” to illustrate the need of a reparation to African- American citizens. Coates explains three major concepts in his paper. He emphasizes how African- American citizens have helped create wealth, displays how the government has actually restricted African- American citizens from owning homes in history, and presents a series of compelling stories from people still suffering discrimination and segregation today. In this paper, I will defend “The Case for Reparations” in agreement with Ta-Nahisi Coates.

The United States government should pay reparations to African Americans as a means of admitting their wrong-doing and making amends. The damages African Americans have sustained from White America’s policy of slavery have been agonizing and inhumane. Therefore, I am in favor of reparations for African Americans. The effect of slavery has been an enduring issue within the African American community. Many of us are cognizant of the harm racism brought to the African American race, conveyed through slavery, racial segregation and discrimination. African Americans suffered many atrocities, but the greatest damage done to them was the destruction of they’re original identity. African

When comparing the arguments made by David Horowitz in Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Blacks Is a Bad Idea for Blacks—and Racist, Too! and by Robert Chrisman and Ernest Allen, Jr. in Ten Reasons A Response to David Horowitz it is difficult to side with one argument over the other. Horowitz argues that if Americans are to establish that reparations must be paid to Black Americans, we must establish those who are responsible for intentionally harming Black Americans, as well as those who were directly harmed. He points out that those campaigning for reparations have made no distinction between the victims of slavery, and the general black community, causing the claims for reparations to be based on race alone. In contrast, Chrisman and Allen argue that slavery is an institutional harm that was inflicted upon a particular race, and therefore reparations should be paid to that race as a whole. They argue the notion that slavery has caused racism to become incorporated into our society, and that this in turn harms Blacks.

For many years the United States has committed atrocious and discriminatory acts against African Americans. In a seemingly more “equal” society today many are wondering what debt is owed to the descendants of African Americans. According to Alfred Brophy of University of North Carolina, reparations are defined as, “programs that are justified on the basis of past harm and that are also designated to assess and correct that harm and improve the lives of victims in the future.” Throughout this paper I will be discussing whether reparations should be paid to African Americans. I will evaluate the question through legal, moral, and political lenses. I will evaluate the start of the movement of reparations while also taking into consideration how reparations have been given in the past. I will also explore new forms/types of reparations that can be given to African Americans. I will also determine the short and long term impacts the implementation of reparations would have on African American society and the society in its entirety.

In “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the author begins his article with this quote to ensure that his audience has a different perspective about the case for African American reparations. There is no denying that since the inception of the United States of America, African Americans have faced serious discrimination and injustice, which may in fact entitle them to reparations. Some African American communities of the present are still experiencing the negative effects of slavery, Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction racism. These negative effects are evident in Chicago’s North Lawndale, where the almost all-black community still suffers from the injustices committed by contract sellers when African Americans would try to purchase a home (Coates). In his article, Coates claims that African Americans deserve reparations because they inherit an “ecologically different” type of poverty compared to whites as members and are haunted by their history of impoverished ancestors (“The Case for Reparations”). The author’s premise is flawed because poverty is disadvantageous to all groups it affects, not just African Americans. Thus, one cannot justify reparations because African Americans have a different type of inherited poverty. There are

In the Atlantic article by Ta-Nehisi Coates titled “The Case for Reparations, Coates argues that the reason why the United States was able to grow and acquire most of its wealth can be directly tied to the enormous losses people of the African-American community have suffered since the use of slave labor in America. Historically, African-Americans have always been discriminated against. Even today, African-Americans continue to be excluded from the system, while the nation, primarily non-blacks, continues to reap the benefits. Moreover, Coates affirms that the nation needs to acknowledge these truths and should provide reparations for the African-American people. Merriam-Webster defines reparations as “the act of making amends, offering expiation,

The article, “The Case for Reparations”, presents itself with a commendable representation on how the need for reparations is essential when combined with the brutal history of slavery and progression of blacks in American Society after slavery. Ta- Nehisi Coates argues that the relationship between racial identity and reparations is based upon America’s debt to blacks for the countless years of injustice. With this he demonstrates how white supremacy has ultimately used impractical measures to maintain what they consider social stability for those who were not African American.

There is no doubt that African Americans have a rich cultural background and history like the many different ethnic groups who settled in the New World, whose origins lie in another country. For this reason, America was known as the melting pot. However, the backgrounds of each of these cultures were not always understood or, in the case of African Americans, accepted among the New World society and culture. Americans were ignorant to the possibility of differences among groups of people until information and ideas started to emerge, particularly, the African retention theories. This sparked an interest in the field of African culture and retention in African Americans. However, the study of African American culture truly emerged as a result of increased awareness in America, specifically through the publication and findings of scholarly research and cultural events like the Harlem Renaissance where all ethnicities were able to see this rich historical culture of African Americans.

Reparations should not be paid, because they will be seen as a final payment. The general population would feel that reparations would be the ultimate closure, and that African-Americans are not owed further. Lawrie Balfour at the University of Virginia in 2005 stated that “the closure afforded by reparations means that no more will be owed to Blacks than is owed to any citizen under the law. Given the depth of societal denial about the significance and effects of slavery and the pervasiveness of antiblack racism, it is unlikely reparations alone could accomplish so much”. This means that while reparations will not ever be able to compensate for the full suffering of African-Americans, paying them to African-Americans will not completely put behind racism, and it is unlikely the problems that will still exist will be further addressed. This is supported by Glen Loury, director of the Institute of Race and Social Division at Boston University, who says there would only be a short term victory for African Americans. “It will undermine the claim for further help down the road, because the rest of America will say, ‘Shut up: You’ve been paid.’” This is harmful, because it allows other Americans to disregard and put behind the past. Additionally, any further problems that are still going to exist will be ignored, due to the perception that all the harm has been addressed and African-Americans have received compensation for these wrongs. Forgetting these problems can cause them

In Coates’ piece of writing, A Case of Reparations, he states that reparation is a means of full acceptance of our collective biography and its consequences, and is the price we must pay to see ourselves squarely; ' 'Perhaps no statistic better illustrates the enduring legacy of our country 's shameful history of treating black people as sub-citizens, sub-Americans, and sub-humans than the wealth gap. Reparations would seek to close this chasm. ' ' There are three major aspects in Coates’ article that have caught my attention: the stories of unknown people who are alive today, emphasis on black works establishing wealth, and the lack of emphasis on emotional harms of discrimination (Ben Mathis-Lilley, slate.com). Having read this article concerning his arguments for reparations and citing the history of oppression, I am writing to express my opinion towards his assertion that justice should finally be served to people of color with a form of compensatory payment. Although he composes several arguments in which supports his declaration, I have to partially agree with it. Yes, there must be amends towards black people for shaping, and maybe even building, this country, but there are other matters that require our attention to a great extent like world hunger, sex trafficking or sexual misconduct, extreme poverty, and/or hopelessness. Despite being the biggest

Slavery has been entwined with American history ever since Dutch traders brought twenty captive Africans to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Slavery in America is a subject with minimal truths and stories rarely told. The public school system excludes the fact that eight of the first twelve American presidents were major slaveholders. Emancipation brought freedom, but not approximation. The civil rights movement killed Jim Crow, but shadows remained. Affirmative Action created opportunities, but racism continues.

Historically, there has been many groups of people who have received reparations for past wrongdoings. There have been a few isolated incidents, such as the Rosewood event, where African Americans were harmed and received reparations; however, reparations have also been given on a much larger scale. Ta-Nehisi Coates is a national correspondent at The Atlantic, and he has written books along with countless articles on African Americans and equally. Coates is one of the most important names in the debate for reparations; his article “The Case for Reparations” is one of the most influential pieces on the topic. In his article, he writes about many different sub-topics on reparations, one of which is historical precedent. A previous historical account of reparations occurred in 1952 when West Germany began its journey of redemption for the horrors of the Holocaust. Cotes gives useful background information needed to understand the events that led up to the Israelites receiving reparations for the Holocaust. The road to reparations was a violent one indeed, but the end result was the Jewish people receiving reparations from West Germany. According to Joe Feagin, in his paper “Documenting the Costs of Slavery, Segregation, and Contemporary Racism: Why Reparations Are in Order for African Americans,” the German government paid more than $60 billion to the victims of the Holocaust in reparations. Feagin has received many scholarly awards on the topics of

In the article, “The case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the author examined African American history as it relates to slavery and oppression. The article discussed slavery experiences, unjust laws, current issues, and reparation ideas. Coates (2014) examined past events that occurred to prevent African Americans from being equal to whites. According to Coates (2014) African Americans were vulnerable because they did not have protection from law. The article discussed how African Americans suffered many loses due to whites such as voting rights, taxes, and property lost. African Americans were still at a disadvantage when certain laws were put into place in their favor. Coates (2014) gives great insight of the unfairness and hardships. The article also gives great examples of current issues that African Americans encounter in today’s society, such as health care and employment. Coates (2014) main purpose is to encourage readers that African Americans deserve compensation for years of oppression. The author also believes that reparation is necessary and would be very beneficial.

Today, as well as throughout its past, America has been viewed as one of the most productive and wealthiest nations in the civilized world. While this status is a result of many different factors, there is one undeniable component to this reputation; slavery. Other than slavery, there have various examples of blacks being systematically denied opportunities for gaining wealth and upward mobility. These examples include racist economic policies at the hands of the government, predatory mortgage agreements by white entrepreneurs, and violent anti-black demonstrations by white mobs.