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| Ta-Nehisi Coates |
I encourage you to read "The Case for Reparations", a powerful, must read article by Ta-Nehisi
Coates, The Atlantic, dated May 21, 2014. The Atlantic’s cover alone should begin an
interesting discussion:
The Case for Reparations
"If you are not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing."
Related articles:
The Case for Reparations, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic, May 21, 2014
Democracy Now, May 29, 2014, Interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates on Reckoning with U. S. Slavery and Institutional Racism
Democracy Now, May 30, 2014, Interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates Part 2 Segregation, Housing Discrimination and the Case for Reparations
The Root, Case for Reparations Explains How America Must Come to Terms With Its History, Peniel E. Joseph, May 28, 2014
National Review Response to Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Case for Reparations, Kevin Williamson, May 24, 2014
On the case for reparations and the National Review response, Michael Miner, Chicago Reader, May 29, 2014
Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of
Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist
housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will
never be whole.
When I look at social media I wonder are "we
wasting our time on trivia and discounting any discussion on meaningful,
significant issues". Are we led to wonder why Solange and Jay-Z were fighting in
the elevator vs exploring why African Americans are filling our jails and
working for the prison industrial complex? We want to know why Bobby Christina
looks so bad, rather than focus on how we can control drugs and crime in our communities. The
media steers us to a discussion of the supposed failures of our black men and
black women, rather than help us examine the history of public policies that
created our community’s longstanding and ongoing problems, i.e. lack of jobs, poor education, lack
of a reasonable wage for workers, etc.
We want to know about Kim Kardashian’s engagement
ring or wedding gown and what various celebrities wore on their latest red
carpet stroll, but not about how children in poverty can be helped with
adequate food, clothing and shelter. Heaven forbid we advocate a meaningful
conversation on race or police brutality or even creating adequate housing
opportunities for low income workers. We shake our head when the right wing G.O.P.
attacks the First Lady for her efforts against childhood obesity and healthy
eating in our schools. You won’t see the kind of interest and outcry that Cliven
Bundy and Donald Sterling generated. People jumped on that train, yelled for
action and followed every word in the media.
We are led to talk about the President’s swagger,
not his proposals or a congress that blocks his every move. What are we doing about efforts being made to take away our voting rights? We watch as they
cut food stamps for the poor, pass laws to restrict abortion and contraception
for women, and even underfund veterans and first responders (yes, we love our
military). We record the carnage of gun violence and watch the names change, but
not the situation. Oscar Grant and Trayvon Martin are killed by gun violence in
days gone by only to be replaced by the Sandy Hook victims, then others.
The country is up
in arms for a few days, then the news cycle changes and our attention is drawn
to late night television and the exploits of Kimmel, Fallon and Letterman. We’d
rather watch Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, not examine the proposed bills and laws coming from
the state and federal legislators.
No one said it would be easy. We need to be careful, use our minds, and keep focused on what’s important. We must keep our “eye on the prize”.
Malcolm X gave us food for thought about the media:
"The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.""If you are not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing."
Related articles:
The Case for Reparations, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic, May 21, 2014
Democracy Now, May 29, 2014, Interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates on Reckoning with U. S. Slavery and Institutional Racism
Democracy Now, May 30, 2014, Interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates Part 2 Segregation, Housing Discrimination and the Case for Reparations
The Root, Case for Reparations Explains How America Must Come to Terms With Its History, Peniel E. Joseph, May 28, 2014
National Review Response to Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Case for Reparations, Kevin Williamson, May 24, 2014
On the case for reparations and the National Review response, Michael Miner, Chicago Reader, May 29, 2014
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