1. Materials
1.1. "The Case for Reparations" (Ta-Nehisi Coates)
1.2. "Ta-Nehisi Coates Revisits the Case for Reparations" (Interview with the New Yorker)
1.2.1. "Ta-Nehisi Coates’ full opening statement on reparations at House hearing" (YouTube)
2. Key Questions/Themes
2.1. What are Reparations?
2.1.1. For the descendants of the enslaved
2.1.2. But not just in response to slavery-also Jim/Jane Crow
2.1.2.1. A century-long campaign of terror
2.2. Why do we need them?
2.2.1. To remedy historical theft
2.2.1.1. The theft of land and wealth
2.2.1.2. Enslaved peoples were once America's "most valuable asset" ($3 billion in 1860)
2.2.1.2.1. How much of America's wealth is built on the backs of the enslaved?
2.2.1.2.2. Wealth bonds the generations over time
2.2.1.3. Theft then and now
2.2.1.3.1. The average black family has 1/10 of the wealth of an average white family
2.3. A matter of intergenerational justice
2.3.1. Who is responsible and why?
2.3.1.1. Should white people literally pay for the sins of their ancestors?
2.3.1.2. American citizenship is community-based, not just individual-based.
2.3.1.2.1. "A dilemma of inheritance"
2.3.1.2.2. Closing the achievement gap and the injury gap
2.3.2. HR40 (Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act)
2.3.2.1. Introduced every year by Rep. John Conyers from 1989-2017
2.3.2.2. The bill has never been officially taken up by Congress
2.3.3. A revolution of American consciousness