Ta-Nehisi Coates Addresses Criticism of His Stellar Reparations Cover Story

Ta-Nehisi Coates' intricate, brilliant Atlantic cover story about reparations is so enthralling that people are still debating the matter. Last night, Coates appeared at D.C.'s Sixth & I Synagogue and answered questions about the piece.

The main issue that people have with a case being made for reparations is how would they be distributed? What would the specific plan be? Coates' response, though detailed, was rather simple: Most people don't know enough about the issue to even have the discussion.

Here's an excerpt from the session:

He had a very succinct answer for anyone who accused him of race-baiting or stirring the pot:

Though it's almost impossible to come up with a simple answer to the question, Coates' feature has done exactly what it needed to do: Start the conversation.

[via The Atlantic]

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