Earlier this month, our Humanities 4 and SUPA African American Studies (AAS) classes collaborated to read and discuss “A Case for Reparations,” an important article written by Ta-Nehisi Coates about how America needs to reckon with our moral debts as a result of hundreds of years of slavery, Jim Crow, racial segregation, and racism.
Humanities 4 has been reading the novel “Just Mercy” and learning about systemic racism, while SUPA AAS is studying the development of slavery in the United States. Using their readings and lessons from both classes, students came together to discuss how the institution of slavery in the United States has resulted in present-day struggles with racism and inequality.
To end the discussion, teachers Mr. Gore and Mr. Brennan challenged the students to answer the question posed by Ta-Nehisi Coates in the article “should African Americans receive reparations?” Students discussed reasons for possible reparations and how such a system might work.