Article Review The Case for Reparations First, read “The Case for Reparations” (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. by Ta-Nehisi Coates,

Article Review The Case for Reparations First, read “The Case for Reparations” (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. by Ta-Nehisi Coates, taking careful notes on the text as you do. My recommendation is that you write a brief synopsis of each section of the article in a separate document or on a separate sheet of paper. What is the main focus of each section? What are the main points that Coates makes? What is each section’s main argument?

Next, do your best to answer the following reading questions. Bring a copy—hard or digital—of your answers to class.

1) What did it mean to buy “on contract”? Why was Clyde Ross forced to purchase his house this way, instead of through a legitimate mortgage?

2) In 3-4 sentences, please describe the problem in the present that Coates has identified in Chicago. How does Coates prove that this problem really is a problem? How does he quantify it? (Remember: historical practices like racially restrictive covenants and historical policies like redlining aren’t present problems. They are historical causes of the present problem, which isn’t what I’m asking for in this question.)

3) What is the earliest historical period that Coates discusses in this article? How is this connected to his overall argument?

4) In Question 2 above, you described the problem in the present that Coates has identified. Now, please list (at least) 5 historical causes that contributed to creating this problem. I already gave you two above—i.e., racially restrictive covenants and the HOLC’s practice of “redlining” particular neighborhoods. What are (at least) 3 others?

5) Coates’s overall argument in this essay (his “case”) is that, given the racist history of policies and practices in the U.S., “reparations” of some kind are necessary in order to address the categorical difference between black and white poverty that continues to exist in this country. How does Coates think that the nation should begin discussing what these reparations might look like? What specific federal Act does he advocate for? What does he think this Act could achieve?