Introduction
For several years, there has been a trend in the United States to make reparations to the African-American community for the massacres, injustices, humiliations, and general mistreatment imposed on their descendants as a result of segregation, the Jim Crow period, and racist actions in many other aspects of American society over the last 250 years. Ta-Nehisi Coates, a global correspondent for The Atlantic where he reports about history, politics, and social problems, wrote an essay titled "A Case for Reparations" in 2014.
The Flaw in Coates' Theory of Moral Cleansing
Mr. Coates’ article made the argument that reparations are owed to the African-American community in the United States to bring about a “spiritual renewal” in the country and begin the healing of the scars of the past. Even though Coates’ call for reparations is a noble undertaking, reparations based on his theory of moral cleansing is flawed because bringing "spiritual renewal" to the morality of the White supremacist class will do nothing for the current problems of the African-American community, some of which originated in the discrimination of the past, and because he does not present a concrete plan to tackle the material harms the people he is trying to help.
A Flawed Comparison: Reparations and Rape
The idea of making reparations to the African-American community based on repairing the morals of the White supremacist class and thereby bring about “spiritual renewal” (qtd. in Stephens, 2014) for America, is akin to making reparations to rape victims so that their attackers will feel better about themselves and thereby heal the wounds they caused. The reason this is true is because both rape and slavery share a common factor. Both are committed to establishing dominance over the subject. Just as rape is not about sex, slavery is not about hatred for, or racism against, African-Americans. Both are committed with the express purpose of establishing and maintaining power over a class of people who cannot, or will not, fight back aggressively against their attacker. Whites have always wielded the greatest power in the United States. This was true even before there was an official “United States.” To use a quotation from a popular science-fiction series, the reason slavery and mistreatment of African-Americans went on for so long was because “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” (Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan). It was advantageous for the White supremacist class of the United States to perpetuate the institution of slavery because it brought them material wealth and creature comfort. When the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation brought an end to slavery, the White supremacists invented a new way to hold power over the African-Americans, Jim Crow segregation laws and when those policies were struck down by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the White supremacist class found other ways such as racial discrimination to hold power over African-Americans.
The Challenges of Implementing Reparations
If Coates is correct in his assessment, and reparations are needed, then the next questions which must be addressed, which Coates addresses in his article, are “Who will be paid? How much will they be paid? [and] Who will pay?” (qtd. in Epstein, 2014). As Epstein points out, Coates never gives any specifics on how to carry out the reparations which he proposes beyond endorsing John Conyers plan “to form a Congressional committee to seek out 'appropriate remedies' for the lingering effects of slavery and segregation” (Epstein). So, it is left to us to imagine what kind of system could be formulated which would service the most African-Americans, in the best way, and in the least amount of time. The problem of reparations for African-Americans does not lend itself to a simple solution such as the reparations paid to the interned Japanese-Americans from World War II or the payment made by the German government to the Jews in Israel for Hitler’s atrocities in World War II, so, what can be done if reparations are indeed the correct way to handle this situation? Currently, no one in government or in the private sector has been able to answer this question.
An Alternative Approach: Real Commitments
As can be seen above, Coates has the right idea but the wrong execution. What is needed is not reparations to soothe the moral consciences of the White supremacist class but real, solid commitments to the African-American community in the United States to fix the current problems which were caused by the 250 years of mistreatment and unfair practices which were a result of slavery, Jim Crow segregation, and discriminatory practices across the board. Epstein suggests that the real way to help the African-American community would be to “consider the many constructive steps that could, and should, be taken right now as part of our ongoing social commitments to black Americans.” Epstein mentions the current initiative of charter schools which he states is “working overtime” to provide children of all races better access to quality education and if properly administered at the local level will provide even the poorest communities with a brighter future in education. Another solution to the problems of the African-American community which Epstein supports is deregulation which in his words “knocks down barriers to entry instead of erecting them in the name of greater racial or economic justice.” As a matter of fact, finding some way to compensate the African-American community in the United States for past injustices will continue to be an ongoing problem but reparations in and of themselves, are not the answer.
Works Cited
Epstein, Richard A. “The Case Against Reparations for Slavery.” Hoover Institution. http://www.hoover.org/research/case-against-reparations-slavery. Accessed on May 4, 2017.
Stephens, R. L. II. “The Morality Trap: A Case Against ‘The Case for Reparations’.” Orchestrated Pulse website. http://www.orchestratedpulse.com/2014/05/morality-against-reparations/. Accessed on May 4, 2017.
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. Directed by Nicholas Meyer, performances by William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForrest Kelley, James Doohan and Nichelle Nichols, Paramount, 1982. Accessed on May 5, 2017.
