On the Backs of Rain Clouds
There are two stories. One begins in the gentrified township of a suburb outside of Portland, Oregon where I grew up around the remnants of sundown exile, the systematic expulsion of African Americans once it was dark; deemed as dangerous, they were once forced to leave the boxed quarters of $110,000 median income every night… official or not, this sundown policy was in place less than thirty years ago, and its racist crumbs remain. The town, named Lake Oswego, was nicknamed Lake No Negro—fitting considering the town is 90% white and only 0.7% African American—and while sundown no longer means expulsion, there is still, to this day, protests of new trains, bus stops, and apartment buildings because, and only because, it would let them in. The town evokes a West Coast sense of racism, not articulated or verbalized, instead perpetuated through nods or looks or words like …show more content…
Between the World and Me has solidified the empathy needed for White Americans to “ultimately stop themselves.” What the book doesn’t do, however, is give us the tools to do this, the tools needed to spread the message to unbelievers and recreate the empathy that Coates displays so well. Of course, this was not the purpose of the book; it’s the purpose of Coates’ essay “The Case for Reparations,” where he uses historical research and evidence to make the argument for American slave restitution. In the piece, Coates provides the necessary tools for White Americans to believe and push the progressive notions warranted in order to make a difference in the African American community, and it accomplishes this with little visceral empathy—just research, history, and logic—differing from Between the World and Me. And so, wherever “The Case for Reparations” falls, Between the World and Me rises in its place, and vice versa, making them perfect companions for each other, a companionship key for white readers,