An argument for slavery reparations


In The Atlantic, author Ta-Nehisi Coates makes a powerful argument for slavery reparations by examining how African-Americans have been exploited, discriminated against and brutalized throughout America’s history.

Categories: Race
Jay Jochnowitz

9 Responses

  1. Diogenes II says:

    Ta-Nehisi Coates does not make a “powerful argument” for reparations. All he does is trot out ideas that have been floating around for decades and summarily rejected, even by most descendants of African-American slaves who have a public forum at their disposal. What Ta-Nehisi Coates is doing is trying to make money by riling people up. This idea is dead and buried and should stay their. We have enough living problems without having to start dealing with zombie ideas.

  2. ReepDaggle says:

    The historic treatment of African-Americans by whites is deplorable, no question about that, but the only way to overcome that history is through changing hearts and minds. We’ve had 160 years to do that, and still haven’t figured it out. Financial reparation sounds nice, but how would that improve the hearts and mind situation? If anything it would exacerbate it.

  3. Albert J says:

    The clearest example of how successful reparations for the period of American slavery has been, is the ever increasing volume of descendants of those who suffered who have seized on the opportunities made available to improve and elevate their position in American society. Progress towards improvement moved slowly during the first 100, or so years, but the pace has dramatically quickened as the availability of opportunities has been significantly increased since the end of WW II, leading up to the Civil Rights legislation of the mid 1960s.

    History is unchangeable, mistakes cannot be undone they can either be continued or they can be rejected and not repeated. The corrections made have produced opportunities for countless individuals of color willing to seize on the opportunities available and exert the necessary, personal effort to capitalize on those opportunities to enable them to move into the mainstream of American society and enjoy the products of their individual talents.

    Those opportunities continue through today and are available to those who target them, prepare for them and direct their energies and talents towards achieving them. The objective of achieving success based on personal achievement, character and well placed effort, rather than race, ancestry or personal beliefs, although not yet (or likely ever) complete has progressed dramatically towards it’s goal, and the pace is ever quickening.

    The glass once empty has been filled, far above the half way measure in an ongoing effort to reach the top, yet some insist on dwelling on mistakes of the past, which can never be undone, nor should be forgotten rather than focus on successes and concentrate on maximizing them.

    Continually looking back over your shoulder is not going to help anyone deal with avoiding the potholes that lay in the road ahead.

  4. Will says:

    Coates is right. Simple as that.

  5. Ron Hale says:

    Take the money out of the Pentagon budget, Jay, and
    the country benefits twice over.

    And, don’t forget Native Americans.

  6. 00000 says:

    330,000 WHITE UNION military knowingly went to their deaths to free the African American slaves during the Civil War, they FOLLOWED the directives and emancipation orders of their government, a government THEY ELECTED. I have never heard an establishment, professional, progressive/ African-American, or White Progressive (TIMES UNION INCLUDED), ever recognize, much less thank these dead men for their sacrifices, nor recognize the 260,000 White Union military who were wounded and/or grievously disabled, nor the widows, nor the children, nor the families of the military who also suffered.

  7. Diogenes II says:

    Almost every “Progressive” of any color I know either served in the military or has a relative or close friend who served in, and/or were wounded in, and/or died serving their country. These “Progressives” observe Memorial Day and acknowledge the military service of their countrymen. This contrasts with rich right wing (almost always white) Chicken Hawk, none of whom served in the Military, but think they’re entitled to lie about and throw stones at people who did. Some people on the Chicken Hawk list are Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, Mitt Romney, Chris Christie, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’reilly, John Bolton, Jim Bunning, Pat Boone, Ann Coulter, Dinest D’souza, New Gingrich, Jerry Falwell, Rudy Giuliani, the Koch Brothers, Grover Norquist, Dan Quayle, Marco Rubio, Richard Pearle, Sylvester Stalone,and MANY, MANY, others.

  8. 00000 says:

    Diogenes II:
    Your response falls under the category of AVOIDING THE ISSUE of LOGICALLY FALLACIOUS ARGUMENTS but I will respond in kind.
    “Some people on the Chicken Hawk list” :
    James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, William Clinton, Barack Obama, Jr., Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Alger Hiss, James Forrestal, Rahm Emmanuel, John Bingham, Zachariah Chandler, Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner, Henry Wilson, Edwin M. Stanton, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Gerrit Smith, ……
    I could go on and on.
    Amazon will give you two cents trade-in credit for your source book, “Logically Fallacious: The Ultimate Collection of Over 300 Logical Fallacies”

  9. Diogenes II says:

    Your statement “falls under the category of AVOIDING THE ISSUE of LOGICALLY FALLACIOUS ARGUMENTS” is basically meaningless in this context. What exactly are you trying to say?

    The key here is that the people on my list are alive today, have repeatedly beat the drums for war, have not served in the military themselves, but repeatedly imply that people who are opposed to those wars are cowardly, unpatriotic, and other nasty things, despite the fact they, unlike the ChickenHawks, have served their country bravely. Not serving in the military isn’t the issue. Being a ChickenHawk is the issue.