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English 102

12 Sept 2019

ILA #2

My source was an article titled “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I found

this source based on a recommendation from you. It seems quite credible due to the famous

writer, popular news outlet (The Atlantic), and sizable amount of research and interviews that

were done to create the piece. I chose it over other pieces because I was already familiar with Ta-

Nehisi Coates and knew his skill and knowledge on this sort of topic. The topic of reparations is

very controversial, so I wanted a source that would present an argument without being overly

biased.

The exigence of this article is to convince white America that reparations are necessary to

make up for dozens of years and opportunities lost by African Americans based of the color of

their skin. Coates has a goal of motivating change in how we think about reparations and the

sufferings of African and tries to accomplish this through rhetorical exigence. The Kairos of this

story, which was written in 2014, is the incidences of police brutality and systematic racism

against African Americans. This nation’s history of racism as lead to uprisings (whether

physical, intellectual, or political) by African Americans and the Black Lives Matter movement

in 2013-2015 is an example of that. This article was written during the peak of that movement. In

this article, the main claim of Coates is that reparations should be made to African Americans.

Coates backs this claim up with numerous data sources. He includes multiple interviews with
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people who have been affected by racial or segregationist policies. He uses statistical data to

describe multiple points and uses stories of Nazi Germany to create a comparison. He warrants

that reparations will help to relieve the ailments faced by African Americans in our society. He

backs this warrant by discussing the current effects African Americans face because of our

nations history of racist policy. A common argument against reparations is “Why should I have

to pay for something I had no part in?” Coates rebuts this by describing how our nation already

pours billions of dollars into institutions that uphold slavery or racism. Coates also says that

reparations do no necessarily need to be in money. A greater acceptance of the current

conditions of African Americans and their struggles would serve as a type of reparation. Coates

qualifies the argument by implying reparations are absolutely necessary.

I believe this source was credible due to the popularity of the author and the news outlet.

The article has multiple sources that tell a similar story. I verified the credibility of this source by

cross referencing the affects of red-lining and segregation with other sources. Coates is biased in

his belief that reparations are necessary, however he does not let his bias affect the readability of

the article. He makes an argument but does not skew the article so that the reader is biased. The

warrant makes use of pathos and ethos. Coates attempts to make you feel the pains suffered by

African Americans and the unethical things that happened to them.

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Works Cited

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “The Case for Reparations.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 22 June

2018, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/.