There is no denying that black people in America have been mistreated in the past; almost every American can agree on this, regardless of their race. However, the argument of whether the effects of this mistreatment exist today is a more complex and controversial one. Even more controversial is the argument of whether black people should recieve reparations. In his article “The Case for Reparations”, Ta-Nehisi Coates argues for the need for reparations for black Americans due to a number of factors. These factors include the systematic plunder of blacks in the past (especially with racist housing policy) that has led to higher black poverty incidences today, the deeply embedded legacy of racism in American society due to the economic importance
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However, multiple studies also show that the effects of this in the 60s reverberate until today. According to Algernon Austin of the Economic Policy Institute, “Nearly half (45 percent) of poor black children live in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty, but only a little more than a tenth (12 percent) of poor white children live in similar neighborhoods. Children in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty experience more social and behavioral problems, have lower test scores, and are more likely to drop out of school”. Not only do black people still suffer the consequences of their neighborhoods essentially being made “ghettos” in the 60s, but their children are also less likely to receive a good education, trapping them into a cycle of poverty. Without good education, there are little to no ways to rise above poverty. Therefore, Coates’ argument is strong, since there is much evidence to back up the fact that the cycle of poverty has continued until today despite the banning of certain tactics used in the …show more content…
According to Brookings, “Progress is the largely suppressed story of race and race relations over the past half-century. And thus it’s news that more than 40 percent of African Americans [in 1998] consider themselves members of the middle class” (Thernstrom and Thernstrom). However, Ray Boshara of the Washington Post states that “Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — where I work — has found that, between 1992 and 2013, college-educated whites saw their wealth soar by 86 percent while college-educated blacks saw theirs plummet by 55 percent” (Boshara). Coates’ argument is valid; although the conditions of black people in poverty are improving, they are not improving at the same rates as whites and education does not yield the same degree of social mobility for both races. While things are getting better after the eradication of the Jim Crow Laws, the real root of the problem (existing prejudices today and a cycle of poverty that has existed since the end of the Civil War) has to be addressed using reparations for there to truly be equality between the races. The 4th argument that Coates makes is that American racism against blacks is also codified by practices of the US government itself. The wealth gap was not just engineered by white landlords, but also by the US government who failed to protect blacks and extend the safety net to them. The Federal Housing
However, multiple studies also show that the effects of this in the 60s reverberate until today. According to Algernon Austin of the Economic Policy Institute, “Nearly half (45 percent) of poor black children live in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty, but only a little more than a tenth (12 percent) of poor white children live in similar neighborhoods. Children in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty experience more social and behavioral problems, have lower test scores, and are more likely to drop out of school”. Not only do black people still suffer the consequences of their neighborhoods essentially being made “ghettos” in the 60s, but their children are also less likely to receive a good education, trapping them into a cycle of poverty. Without good education, there are little to no ways to rise above poverty. Therefore, Coates’ argument is strong, since there is much evidence to back up the fact that the cycle of poverty has continued until today despite the banning of certain tactics used in the …show more content…
According to Brookings, “Progress is the largely suppressed story of race and race relations over the past half-century. And thus it’s news that more than 40 percent of African Americans [in 1998] consider themselves members of the middle class” (Thernstrom and Thernstrom). However, Ray Boshara of the Washington Post states that “Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — where I work — has found that, between 1992 and 2013, college-educated whites saw their wealth soar by 86 percent while college-educated blacks saw theirs plummet by 55 percent” (Boshara). Coates’ argument is valid; although the conditions of black people in poverty are improving, they are not improving at the same rates as whites and education does not yield the same degree of social mobility for both races. While things are getting better after the eradication of the Jim Crow Laws, the real root of the problem (existing prejudices today and a cycle of poverty that has existed since the end of the Civil War) has to be addressed using reparations for there to truly be equality between the races. The 4th argument that Coates makes is that American racism against blacks is also codified by practices of the US government itself. The wealth gap was not just engineered by white landlords, but also by the US government who failed to protect blacks and extend the safety net to them. The Federal Housing