Summary Of The Case For Reparations By Ta-Nehisi Coates

“The Case for Reparations”, an article by Ta-Nehisi Coates’, is an example of what not to do when trying to persuade a reader on a point of view. History has shown that since the first slave was brought from Africa and integrated into American society the systematic oppression of African-Americans is forever present but this is a theme that people have heard all too often. In the article, the author generalizes a large group of people, shows close-mindedness and too in-depth a focus on his topic in his writing, and fails to present any opposing arguments which is imperative in a persuasive essay or topic. Generalizing is a key issue in the article “The Case for Reparations” because it weakens Coates’ argument. Although the article uses a large amount of emotion in the writing it puts

The author uses his paper as a platform to try and prove why African-Americans deserve reparations for all the egregious actions by the lawmakers throughout history but a key flaw is that not all African-Americans believe they deserve reparations for the systematic oppression they have endured. While a portion of people may side with Coates’ in this essay, he does not speak for the population as a whole. This point makes the article very subjective and dangerous because it pits two groups of people who would be thought to have the same goal, against each other. A major point Coates’ makes, “One thread of thinking in the African American community holds that these depressing numbers partially stem from cultural pathologies that can be altered through individual grit and exceptionally good behavior.”(The Case for Reparations) focuses on the generalization of the community at large on the topic of African-American based poverty rates. Although he touches upon fact that this is only one thread of thinking in the community the quote puts an emphasis on African Americans train of thought while not focusing on the key fact, which is that the