Summary: The Case For Reparations

Words: 1625
Pages: 7

The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates is an extensive, persuasive collection of stories and examples that are meant to show the reality of racism throughout the 1900’s and why that should lead to proper reparations. Many of these stories are told through the story of the life of Clyde Ross, who was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1923. His life ran parallel to so many of the racist oppressive, trends that were prevalent in the United States prior to 1970 such as sharecropping and the illegitimate methods used to prevent blacks from obtaining mortgages. This account begins with stories from Clyde’s youth, growing up on a large farm outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi. His family made their living on this farm, and they even had a horse and buggy that was the pride of the family. All of a sudden, everything they owned was ripped from their hands. A man showed up claiming that the elder Ross owed $3,000 in back taxes, which he of course couldn’t pay. He had no lawyer, and he couldn’t even read, so there was no way for him to fight these claims.
All of this is described in a very simplistic manner, Ta-Nehisis Coates understood that the pain of Clyde’s life would speak for itself and needed no embellishment. The simplistic manner is exemplified in this quote about Clyde’s inability to attend a better school,
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Then they’d bring in another black family, rinse, and repeat”. The use of the word peddled instead of sold is the first clue that these people contain cruel intentions. The part where he says that they would bring in another black family, then rinse and repeat is just as important, he is attempting to say that black people meant as little as a load of laundry to these contract