Coates: Good Evening Mr. Williamson, I appreciate the time you took to meet with me this evening. I have read your reply to my work, and I would like to pick your brain on a few of your rebuttal points so that we both may emerge more aware and informed of this contentious issue. It is apparent there no debate between the two of us over the tumultuous past of slavery and discrimination African Americans were forced to endure. And to a degree, as you have stated you agree with the present that I have depicted as well. Where we starkly contrast in our viewpoints, is the means of which reparations would impact the future of African Americans. I believe that you misunderstand the broader point I make for the Case for Reparations. The case that I represent would bring the country in a state of political discourse that it has been shied away from for generations. The country needs to first understand the deliberate harm it delivered relentlessly for over four hundred years and the implications of that this fervent and relentless harm that still pervades to this very day. The route that you describe that should bolster the equal advancement of Americans regardless of demographic does not address the wrongs that this country has committed for the generations.

Williamson: I appreciate the time you took to meet with me as well this evening Mr. Coates, and I am more than obliged to further explain my contentions of your work. You are correct that I do not debate the immoral nature of slavery and discriminations that have been inflicted upon African Americans by the United States government. However, the case for reparations that you advocate so strongly for is misguided. The acknowledgement of the United States of its pervasive discrimination that you discuss is heavily rooted in ideological standpoints will only serve to satisfy well-off individuals such as yourself. The group that you are referring to that have been enslaved and heavily discriminated against are no longer living. You fail to acknowledge the progress we have made as a people and the privileges we endure presently are appreciated by Americans of every race, a feat that was not possible in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. African Americans still have not made the same economic advancements as our white counterparts, but we have advanced drastically as a people. The correct way to further our advancement, as well as the advancement of the American society as a collective, is for policy issues to address the issues the forefront of these issues that plague Americans as a people.

Coates: On the contrary Mr. Williamson, the very issues that our ancestors faced during slavery, still affect us to this very day.  From slavery to Jim Crow segregation and the racist implementation of the New Deal Programs, discrimination has time and time again debased the social and economic mobility of African Americans. We have come far as a people, but how we can finish the same marathon as our peers with weights still tied to our ankles. Unfair housing policies such as redlining created the very ghettos that still exist today. As I explained in my case, just recently Wells Fargo has been found to implement mortgages that contained an emerging-markets unit that specifically targeted black churches. We still continue to suffer. Forcing the country to address its wrongs, by first acknowledging them will do far more than satisfy people like me. It will enable the country as a whole to begin to heal. If the country cannot have an honest conversation about the deplorable atrocities it has inflicted upon their own citizens, that how can we ever expect for us to truly attain equality.

Williamson: African Americans are not the only group that have been disadvantaged by the American government. Your case will further divide the nation by continuing to separate us. Although other ethnic groups have not endured the plight that we have, they weren’t accepted with open arms either. They were able to overcome this plight just as we have. We are not the only unique case of discrimination in world history, and we cannot advocate for a discourse that may disadvantage our American counterparts. I acknowledge the point you are making but I do still do not agree with the further implications of your viewpoints. I believe you miss many key points of which we differ upon. However, this debate has allowed me to understand your perspective further and for that I thank you.