HR 40 is an act that is presented in front of the House of Representatives every year for the past several decades, and it never passes. HR 40 is an act that starts the investigation of reparations. This would allow the U.S. government to begin to observe the damage we’ve done to the African American community and determine whether or not compensation needs to be given out. In an article written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, titled “The Case For Reparations,” he explains the severity of the past racial economic differences. He provides several examples that make it very clear how difficult it was for an African American to have a comparable economic position to a white person. For example, Coates says, “If cotton was selling for 50 cents a pound, the Ross family might get 15 cents, or only five. One year Ross’s mother promised to buy him a $7 suit for a summer program at their church. She ordered the suit by mail. But that year Ross’s family was paid only five cents a pound for cotton. The mailman arrived with the suit. The Rosses could not pay. The suit was sent back. Clyde Ross did not go to the church program.”. In this quote he talks about “the Ross family”, an African American family that lived in Chicago in the early 1900s. This quote, like many others, is meant to shock the reader with its incredible statistic. The idea that a family will earn 35 cents less than another family just because of their skin color is not something that screams freedom for all. Coates continues the article with other shocking facts that make the reader realize that there is a much darker side to American history than we were originally taught in grade school. Another example of this is shown when Coates says “Ross had bought his house for $27,500. The seller, not the previous homeowner but a new kind of middleman, had bought it for only $12,000 six months before selling it to Ross. In a contract sale, the seller kept the deed until the contract was paid in full—and, unlike with a normal mortgage, Ross would acquire no equity in the meantime. If he missed a single payment, he would immediately forfeit his $1,000 down payment, all his monthly payments, and the property itself.”. This quote describes perfectly the amount of money that was required for African American families to be successful economically.

Above is my first body paragraph of my essay. This paragraph is being used as a summary to explain the reading by Coates. After several revisions and suggestions from my peers. I have rewritten it to be more fitting. I have taken time to edit some of my quotes and explanations and start to reference my opinion towards the end of the paragraph. Below is the edited version:

HR 40 is an act that is presented in front of the House of Representatives every year for the past several decades, and it never passes. HR 40 is an act that starts the investigation of reparations. This would allow the U.S. government to begin to assess the damage we’ve done to the African American community and determine whether or not compensation needs to be given out. In an article written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, titled “The Case For Reparations,” he explains the severity of the past racial economic differences. He provides several examples that make it very clear how difficult it was for an African American to have a comparable economic position to a white person. For example, Coates says, “If cotton was selling for 50 cents a pound, the Ross family might get 15 cents, or only five… Ross’s family was paid only five cents a pound for cotton.”. In this quote he talks about “the Ross family”, an African American family that lived in the south in the early 1900s. This quote, like many others, is meant to shock the reader with its incredible statistic. The idea that a family will earn 35 cents less than another family just because of their skin color is not something that screams freedom for all. Coates continues the article with other shocking facts that make the reader realize that there is a much darker side to American history than we were originally taught in grade school. Another example of this is shown when Coates says “Ross had bought his house for $27,500. The seller, not the previous homeowner but a new kind of middleman, had bought it for only $12,000 six months before selling it to Ross.” This quote describes perfectly the amount of money that was required for African American families to be successful economically. The article continues by explaining the flaws of the American past and even gives detail about how the current state of America isn’t much to be proud of either. Personally I find there is a big problem with America and before we go around claiming global superpower, we need to look out past and present.

The next paragraph is my closing paragraph. Clearly it is not much of a paragraph so I took some time to edit and add more detail.

HR 40 will continue to be argued about in the court system but until it passes there is no room for America to claim its title as a world superpower or be examples for other countries across the globe.

A growth mindset, a critical thinking standpoint, and an understanding of our history, is critical to the future of the United States. We have potential to be an excellent country and there is no reason we can not improve our reputation. If we are to take steps into the right direction we will be able to claim the title but if HR 40 continues to fail, there is no room for America to claim its title as a world superpower.