Reparation Paradigm

When designing a building or structure, special care should always be taken to provide particular hierarchy to the entrance. That is, the entrance to a building should both be effortlessly identifiable and accessible. This is all to say that a home, no matter how well-planned and beautiful its interior might be, is nothing without a functional entry. This, in a sense, could act as an analogy for Harvey’s argument in her book “Dear White Christians.” Like a house with a poorly incorporated entrance, Harvey’s thesis is still able to residence a solid argument, but it does so in an inaccessible manner. Harvey successfully identifies the presence of an issue within current methods of racial reconciliation, but succeeds less-so in reaching her audience
She shows this new method to be effective for several reasons. First, it relies on concrete action and acts of service as opposed to abstract sentiment and relational tactics. Second, it embraces a Particularist ethic. That is, it acknowledges differing roles in the process of reconciliation. Third, it is aware of the impact of history and how it influences the race conversation today. Harvey then concludes by providing examples of aspects of the reparations paradigm being employed in the real
As a testament to the internal order of the argument, Harvey’s notions in favor of her new paradigm align in poignant contrast to the evaluated failures of the Reconciliation Paradigm. Harvey states it as such, “A reparations paradigm… will continually return us to three touchstones… : race as a social construct; a particularist ethic that insists we respond to… our distinct relationships to injustice; and repair as the living breathing work” (Harvey 172). Many of the points here relate directly back to Harvey’s points in discussing the downfalls of the Reconciliation Paradigm. For instance, Harvey states on page 57 that true reconciliation can only be achieved “if we allow ourselves to see our racialization in this unfamiliar but deeply historical… way.” This statement fulfills itself in the Reparations Paradigm in the point of “race as a social construct.” In further exploration of this contrast, on page