The Case for Reparations

The Warmth of Other Suns author Isabel Wilkerson shared this today:

The Atlantic Monthly ran a 16,000-word cover story by star essayist Ta-Nehisi Coates on how a discussion of reparations could enlighten us all to the economic costs borne by the country's lowest caste and the damage to the country as it systematically held down its own citizens.


Here's Coates' piece in The Atlantic

Here's the NPR interview with Coates
-- Scholars and activists have called for reparations since the time of Emancipation.
Here's how a leading economist, Prof. William Darity of Duke University, describes the economics of reparations
-- Here's a frequently cited excerpt from The Warmth of Other Suns, a quote from the 1922 Chicago Race Commission: "The past is of value only as it aids in understanding the present; and an understanding of the facts of the problem -- a magnanimous understanding by both races -- is the first step toward its solution."

Check out "Family Properties" by Beryl Satter, a revealing examination of redlining and mortgage fraud against black families that blocked their chances for homeownership well into the 20th Century.


The Case for Reparations - The Atlantic