Ta-Nehisi Coates The Case For Reparations Poem Analysis

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Essayist and author, Ta-Nehisi Coates, has written many works. They vary from essays to books and he uses his platform to discuss cultural, political, and social issues. Two of his major works are his essay, “The Case for Reparations”, and his memoir, “The Beautiful Struggle”. Although both literary works are different in genre, structure, topic, and additional aspects, they connect with one another in multiple ways. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines reparations as “the act of making amends, giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury, or helping those who have been wronged”. Coates argues that no one really knows how to go about reparations for African-Americans because so many horrible acts have been done to people of African descent …show more content…
Ta-Nehisi argues that “white supremacy is not a matter of false consciousness, but a force so fundamental to America that it is difficult to imagine the country without it”. White supremacy is the cause of inequality, racism, and discrimination laws, such as Jim Crow laws. With statistics, Coates makes it clear to see that white people make more money than people of color no matter the circumstances. Reparations are needed because “perhaps no statistic better illustrates the enduring legacy of our country’s history of treating black people as sub-citizens and sub-humans than the wealth gap”. These gaps prove that discrimination is still ingrained in the country’s system. Repairing this would take society’s cooperation as a whole. In Coates’ memoir “The Beautiful Struggle”, Coates’ brother, Bill, would sell drugs on the streets of West Baltimore. He did this because he wanted to be able to afford better clothes, shoes, and everything else that would make him appear to be “cool”. Situations like this occur because of wealth gaps, because for so long black people were denied basic human rights and opportunities. Black people did not even have a chance to become great for an extended period of time, so trying to get money quickly is not out of the

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