For
Tuesday: Coates, “The Case for Reparations”
Answer
TWO of the following:
Q1:
Coates gives us a prominent naysayer early in the essay, Philadelphia
Q2:
What does Coates mean when he writes, “To proudly claim the veteran and disown
the slaveowner is patriotism à la carte” (19)? Or, as he says at the end of the
essay, “To celebrate freedom and democracy while forgetting America
Q3:
Many people would argue that the past is past: it’s ancient history, and
we’ll never move forward if we become mired in old arguments and ideas. Yet
Coates argues that “We cannot escape our history. All of our solutions to the
great problems of health care, education, housing, and economic inequality are
troubled by what must go unspoken” (46-47). How does he support this argument
in his essay? Where to the ‘sins of the fathers’ haunt their children and
grandchildren?
Q4:
Critics of reparations would cite people like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama,
who are not only successful but have reached a standard of living greater than
millions of white Americans. And yet, Coates says that “Barack and Michelle
Obama have won. But they’ve won by being twice as good—and enduring twice as
much” (15). Or, as he says later, “Some black people always will be twice as
good. But they generally find white predation to be thrice as fast” (37). What
does he mean by this? Is this simply a ‘sour grapes’ attitude? What evidence
does he offer that many African-Americans (and other ethnic minorities) have to
work twice as hard for the same rights and privileges as their white peers?
