Black Reparations: Social Justice and the Black Narrative

             In American history, the people of color narrative have historically been invisible; the dominant discourse of American society has been predominantly white with Eurocentric emphasis. Thus, we see the silencing of the narrative of minority groups in American history. In his literature The Price of Reconciliation, Ronald Walters argues for a Black political agenda that includes reparations; he believes that the legacy of slavery has produced a domino effect that produces the oppression of Blacks till this day. Conservatives on the other hand disagree with Walter's argument; they believe that reparation is unnecessary because America is now fair to Blacks. Furthermore, conservatives believe that Blacks should move on since slavery happened a long time ago. In order to understand Walter's argument we must understand his claim that Blacks still suffer from the legacy of slavery. In addition, we must analyze his argument for Black reparation. To comprehend the impact of reparation we must assess the effects of it in the Black community; thus we must analyze how reparation can both aid and hurt the Black community. By taking these steps, we look at the arguments about reparation with a critical eye.
             To understand Walter's claim for reparation we must first understand his view on the effects of the legacy of slavery and its cascading effect on current Black oppression. According to Walters, slavery was a means of legitimizing Black subordination. He states that, "whites had to pretend that they [Blacks] were subhuman species unworthy to enjoy the privileges and responsibilities of free citizens in a free society (Walters, 84)." By the legitimization of slavery, whites are able to label Blacks as inferior creates undeserving of similar rights that they possess. In this process of subordination, whites are able to legitimize the exclusion of the Black narrative in American history. As Michael Kreyling raises the notion of "false memory", a ...

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Black Reparations: Social Justice and the Black Narrative. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 07:03, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/203816.html