As reparations require the country to put a literal price on the generational traumas of slavery, and determining number likes how much is one slave's suffering worth to the country and what are its compensations for the several generations of enslaved ancestors, could insult the descendants and other Americans alike. 

A fellow at the Manhattan Institute, Coleman Hughes, states in 2019 testimony before Congress, "We would only divide the country further if we were to pay the reparations today. It will make it harder to build political coalitions that are required to solve the problems facing black people today. We would insult many black Americans by putting the price on the suffering of their ancestors. This will turn the relationship between black Americans and White Americans from a coalition into a transaction, and from a union between citizens into a lawsuit between plaintiffs and defendants."

He continued that, “Paying reparations to all the descendants of the slaves is a big mistake. Why? Because the people who owed for slavery are no longer here, and Americans are not entitled to collect on their debts. By definition, Reparations are only given to the victims. So the moment you give me reparations, you have made me a victim without my consent."

It is true that African-Americans fall at the bottom of America's racial and social hierarchy. And this reality has routinely and popularly been explained as a result of their inferiority. The claim was rooted in genetics from the start, and today it is based primarily on just a theory of cultural deficiency.

If reparations were to be paid, the country's problem that it is facing racial inequality would not be solved soon enough and will only be increased and exacerbated. The idea of reparations is demeaning to African Americans and would only divide the country along the race lines.