Issue 20: Is Now The Time For Reparation For African Americans?

Submitted By mack727
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D’Angelo, Raymond and Herbert Douglas, eds. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Race and Ethnicity.
7th edition (Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill, 2009) “Issue 20: Is Now the Time for Reparation for African Americans?”

Both of these case studies are very interesting to me. Mr. Robert L Allen believes that reparations for African Americans are necessary to achieve economically just society within the United States in today’s era. He basically says the assault on the quest for reparation is depriving African Americans and giving Caucasians more privileges. The assault on the quest for reparations is backfiring on the republicans because they are becoming victims of their own success. He believes that the way they do attack the quest for reparation is based on the older days of slavery where African Americans and females are inferior that is why white females are being affected by this war on the quest for reparation. Even when slavery was over, this made it practically impossible for former slaves/ blacks to get a job, to take care of their self and their family. The African Americans are being helped by the quest for reparation but society is mistakenly thinking that the quest for reparation is down grading white males. This is what makes him believe that society is brainwashed into thinking that the almighty white man is superior to all women and people of color. This is because some skills are only taught to white males. So his overall view of the whole situation is that the attack on the quest for reparation is nothing more than a replay of African American history during the slavery era including the inferiority of African Americans. Now you have these people which are the staff writers from “The Economist” they believes that the quest for reparation is not necessary to achieve economically just society in the United States of America. He says that we are getting so much government help not just in admissions but also financial aid, internships and plenty of other organizations, so how can we call this an “attack on the quest for reparation”. The government singles out minorities and people in need by posting job listings and other things of that such. They offer a lot of scholarships so that minorities can go to college and better themselves and make it in life. Basically makes it easy for minorities to make it from rags to riches. When applications went off to colleges they use to deliberately wait a while to process them because they don’t believe the pool was diverse enough. The government even set aside so that minorities has opportunities to make it in like, get to that American dream. He says that colleges even try to hire women and minorities before the stereotypical white male professor. They also give the younger minorities role models so that everything is fair because whiter’s fathers are there to be there child’s role model. Lastly minorities tend to pay less on things than white males; there is a significant difference in costs. Colleges are basically free to females and people of color. So, basically they believe that everything is an equal opportunity. These case studies both have a great argument to them and are similar in several ways. It is obvious to me that a Mr. Robert L, Allen is who I am leaning more towards. I believe we are being heavily affected by the attack on the quest for reparation. He explained everything so clearly and I totally see where he is coming from with me being a minority myself I tend already been believed this. Now I disagree with some things the staff writers from “the Economist” expressed in his case study. However I do notice and agree of some things they did say, like they do try to give minorities more job opportunities than white males. But I totally disagree with their whole hypothesis on the situation. Half the sources that they used I do not clearly understand where they may have got this information from. The information felt kind of made up to me even though it could