Reflection on Coatess Argument - Essay Example

Reflection on Coates’s Argument Introduction Coates argues that Black citizens in the US are entitled to reparations due to slavery and other forms of discrimination they underwent during slavery period (Coates, para 1). The author provides example of Jim Crow codes that ensured that black farmers could not own property or sue their masters for forced labor (Coates, para 1). I agree with Coates argument that Black people should be paid reparations due to slavery. I believe that Black people underwent through degrading and traumatizing period since their fertile land was taken away by the slavery masters and were forced to work for long hours with no pay.

The Blacks were forced to leave their fertile lands and robbed their inheritance (Salzberger & Turck, 2004). The existing legal framework enforced slavery thus it is not the blame of slave masters, but the US government since even the judicial decision in the case of Dred Scott in 1857 reaffirmed that slavery was acceptable by the government (Corlett, 2003). I agree with the author that Black people were denied economic opportunities and right to education due to government-sponsored Jim Crow codes.

The black people were denied the opportunity to access good housing facilities since they were cut out of the legitimate home-mortgage market starting from 1930s to 1960s (Coates, para 9). I also believe that previous efforts by subsequent government to improve the living standards of Black Americans through welfare programs, affirmative action and subsidized housing have been minimal. In my view, although the current Constitution grants equal protection of the law, racism and discrimination against Blacks still exist and thus only reparations can address these social problems (Winbush, 2010).

Although the author argues that reparations may be expensive given the huge spending by the government on other social programs that benefit the entire American population, I differ since a debt to Black people is owed and American has the resources to pay the reparations. The black people deserve reparations since the available statistics indicate that they are at the wrong end of all the socio-economic indicators (Coates, para 11). For instance, blacks are three times likely to encounter homicide than other racial groups while the infant mortality rate of black neighborhoods is twice that of national average.

Although the current Black people might not have been slaves, the truth is that they were denied their inheritance and good upbringing since their parents were poor and mistreated by the government (Winbush, 2010). Conclusion There is a prove that slavery is responsible for Black Americans socio-economic status due to discrimination, lack of property rights and lack of voting rights. I believe the Black people were denied their right to good employment and thus their children could not enjoy any good upbringing.

Although the current US American population never owned slaves, it’s the responsibility of the US government to consider providing reparations since the existing government structures of the slavery period imposed laws that discriminated against the Blacks. The Black people encounter high challenges in their daily lives due to slavery history of racism and discrimination and thus reparations should be paid.References:Coates Ta-Nehisi. (2015). “The case for reparations”, Retrieved on 9th October, 2015 from www.

theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/. Corlett, J.A. (2003). Race, Racism, and Reparations. New York: Cornell University Press.Salzberger, R.P & Turck, M. (2004). Reparations for Slavery: A Reader. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Winbush, R. (2010). Should America Pay? Slavery and the Raging Debate on Reparations. London: HarperCollins.