In American history, the people of color narrative have historically been invisible; the dominant discourse of American society has been predominantly white with Eurocentric emphasis. Thus, we see the silencing of the narrative of minority groups in American history. In his literature The Price of Reconciliation, Ronald Walters argues for a Black political agenda that includes reparations; he believes that the legacy of slavery has produced a domino effect that produces the oppression of Blacks till this day. Conservatives on the other hand disagree with Walter’s argument; they believe that reparation is unnecessary because America is now fair to Blacks. Furthermore, conservatives believe that Blacks should move on since slavery happened a long time ago. In order to understand Walter’s argument we must understand his claim that Blacks still suffer from the legacy of slavery. In addition, we must analyze his argument for Black reparation. To comprehend the impact of reparation we must assess the effects of it in the Black community; thus we must analyze how reparation can both aid and hurt the Black community. By taking these steps, we look at the arguments about reparation with a critical eye.
To understand Walter’s claim for reparation we must first understand his view on the effects of the legacy of slavery and its cascading effect on current Black oppression. According to Walters, slavery was a means of legitimizing Black subordination. He states that, “whites had to pretend that they [Blacks] were subhuman species unworthy to enjoy the privileges and responsibilities of free citizens in a free society (Walters, 84).” By the legitimization of slavery, whites are able to label Blacks as inferior creates undeserving of similar...
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...ack reparation. Walter provides a viable justification for Black reparation. He believe that through the passage of Black reparation, the Black voice will finally be visible in American society. However, white conservative contest the idea of Black reparation as “opening up old wounds”; thus they advocate for the idea of “moving on.” In order to fully help the Black community, a viable alternative form of Black reparation must be achieved. Aiding Blacks with educational opportunities seems the most viable not because blacks are intellectually inferior but rather the education system in America is systematically racists; thus, it obstruct the success of many Blacks. As Walter suggest, reparation to Black should occur because it is the social responsibility of America to rectify its wrongdoing; thus with this argument, reparation becomes a form of social justice.
There are many contradictions pertaining to slavery, which lasted for approximately 245 years. In Woody Holton’s “Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era”, Holton points out the multiple instances where one would find discrepancies that lie in the interests of slaveowners, noble figures, and slaves that lived throughout the United States. Holton exemplifies this hostility in forms of documents that further specify and support his claim.
While the formal abolition of slavery, on the 6th of December 1865 freed black Americans from their slave labour, they were still unequal to and discriminated by white Americans for the next century. This ‘freedom’, meant that black Americans ‘felt like a bird out of a cage’ , but this freedom from slavery did not equate to their complete liberty, rather they were kept in destitute through their economic, social, and political state.
In “The View from the Bottom Rail”, the authors, James Davidson and Mark Lytle, proposed, “For several reasons, that debased position has made it unusually difficult for historians to recover the freedman’s point of view.” Within the article, Davidson and Lytle cycled through different aspects as to why it is hard for historians to determine the “view from the bottom rail”. They questioned the validity of many sources that, if accurate, would have contained the perspective of an ex-slave. These sources included both white and black testimony.
This essay showed us how white people wouldn’t let black people have any rights and treated them like they were a problem. It also showed us that no matter how much that black person tries to make something of themselves and it still gets taken away unfairly. John spent years away trying to obtain an education to educate everyone on equality, but the white people took that privilege away from him.
The descendants of the slaves here in America are showered with government aid David Horowitz states that “trillions of dollars in transfer payments have been made to African-Americans in the form of welfare benefits and racial preferences in contracts, job placements and educational admissions”. Since the 60’s, acts and bills have been passed to return justice to the African-American community. For example the passing of the Civil Rights Act presented by President Lyndon B. Johnson. banned the discrimination of race. In addition, Horowitz asks “if trillion-dollar restitutions and the rewriting of American law is not enough to achieve healing, what is?”. Meaning the government has worked to better the social lives of African-Americans as well as economically.
“After 250 years of enslavement in America, African Americans were still terrorized in Deep South; they were pinned to the ghettos, overcrowded, overcharged, discriminated, and undereducated”. The best solution is to owe them reparations. To aid them out of their unjust inherit status. The novel is based on real life situations of many African Americans that had to face during slave, and post slave era in the United States of America. The purpose is to show that not having reparations for the African Americans lead to many downsides to the nation’s inequalities. In the novel “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, he uses just ethics and remorse obligation, to demonstrate the nation should to pay for the damage done to the black community.
In “The Case for Reparations”, Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses inequality through African Americans. According to Coates, America built prosperity on slavery, racial discrimination and unfair housing policies through the years. America has morals to obtain and until reparations are brought to justice America will fail to do so.
Imagine you’re young, and alone. If your family was taken from you and suffered horribly for your freedom, would you want to be repaid in some form? In the article “The Case for Reparations” Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses a great deal of information about reparations, and if they should be given. Reparations are when a person or people make amends for the wrong they have done. Ta-Nehisi believes that from two hundred years of slavery, ninety years of Jim Crow laws, sixty years of separate but equal, and thirty five years of racist housing policy, that America is shackled. Only if we face the compounding moral debt can America be free. Until we face the reality of what happened together, we will always be bound by the lies that have been told.
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 Americans no longer have a native language or any African customs to connect them to Africa. Today, African Americans are connected together because they all share a common foundation-the horrendous experience of slavery-and the great effort to conquer its lingering result.(www.AcedemicLibrary.com)
To start, Coates takes a more specific approach to fixing the division in our society by preaching the idea of reparations. For instance, he states, “And so we must imagine a new country. Reparations-by which I mean the full acceptance of our collective biography and its consequences is the price we must pay to see ourselves squarely.” Coates argues that reparations could help heal our racial divide by allowing societies to accept responsibilities of the mistakes of the past. Moreover, he believes that reparations indicate a society taking lead to reconcile racial relationships based the facts of history. To further emphasize his point, Coates showcases an example of what reparations could do for our society by referring to the case between the Nazi’s and the Jews. He gives examples of how reparations benefitted Israel’s community as he states, “The bank of Israel attributed 15 percent of this growth, along with 45,000 jobs, to investments made with reparations money. But Segev argues that the impact went far beyond that. Reparations ‘had indisputable psychological and political importance,’ he writes.” Coates uses this example to emphasize his point that reparations are needed to store the racial issues that separate
In schools, Blacks are instructed in history classes the role of the slaves in America; nevertheless, slaves are perceived as powerless and submissive. Shakur like many others grew up believing slaves were inferior beings to Whites. For example, “I had grown up believing the slaves hadn’t fought back. I remember feeling ashamed when they talked about slavery in school. The teachers made it seem that Black people had nothing to do with the official ‘emancipation’ from slavery. White people had freed us” (Shakur, 175). The method of teaching slavery in America is intended to suppress Blacks and emphasize on their “inferiority” to Whites, resulting in low-self esteem for Blacks. Students are left with the notion of slavery being consensual and beneficial to both parties, despite the agony slaves were subjected to. Assata states, “Many of us have misconceptions about Black history in amerika. What we are taught in the public school system is usually inaccurate, distorted, and packed full of outright lies” (176). American history is altered and fabricated to maintain White supremacy and alienate Blacks from gaining confidence of their African history. Through inaccurate teachings of Black American history, Blacks’ self esteem is belittled and their confidence is reduced. History is restrained to preserve racism and
The structure of a society is based on the concept of superiority and power which both “allocates resources and creates boundaries” between factors such as class, race, and gender (Mendes, Lecture, 09/28/11). This social structure can be seen in Andrea Smith’s framework of the “Three Pillars of White Supremacy.” The first pillar of white supremacy is the logic of slavery and capitalism. In a capitalist system of slavery, “one’s own person becomes a commodity that one must sell in the labor market while the profits of one’s work are taken by someone else” (Smith 67). From this idea of viewing slavery as a means of capitalism, Blacks were subjected to the bottom of a racial hierarchy and were treated nothing more than a property and commodity that is used for someone else’s benefit. The second pillar involves the logic of genocide and colonialism. With genocide, “Non-Native peoples th...
Many believe that handing out reparations will promote to African American dependency on the government. Reparation will do the opposite for the black community. Reparations will create a platform for African Americans to “create their own economic base and become self-reliant” (Ten Reasons for Reparations). They will rely on their own powers and resources rather than depending on others. For many years African Americans have depended on others to help further their lives, but this could stop. With their
From the time of the Civil War until today, the need for reparations and what type of reparations has been a topic of debate in America. This debate will undoubtedly not go away. No matter what side of the argument a person is on, it is a fact that in 1865 the government believed that reparations were needed. Even though the land was taken back from the newly freed slaves, some insist that laws have been put into place to help assure that minorities, including African Americans, have a fair chance at employment and other aspects in the search for happiness and this is in itself a form of reparations. This issue affects everyone in America. The question now is how it affects us as Americans. This is a subject that everyone should take seriously and I challenge you to research you ancestry and determine what your role in this issue is.
The question of reparations for black communities as a way to repay for the wrongdoings and discrimination towards them in America is an extremely controversial subject and it is a question that has been lingering for decades. Morally, African Americans, and black communities in general, are owed reparations for slavery and segregation, which left a legacy of lost wealth and opportunity. Although I believe every black individual who faces injustices should be dealt reparations, not only is it not practical, but many people have opinions on the matter that differ greatly from mine. From an economic standpoint, it is not possible to pay reparations to every black individual who faces backlash from the past. It is, however, practical to pay reparations