The home (symbol)
Much of Coates' argument is dedicated to showing how policies around homeownership were a major site for the perpetuation of racial inequality. The home and homeownership function as symbols of entry into the American middle class, but also works as a symbol for how even in the most private of places, racism has plagued the African-American community.
Pirate flags (symbol)
Discussing discriminatory housing policy, Coates writes, "when we think of white supremacy, we picture colored only signs, but we should picture pirate flags." The pirate flag is a symbol of theft, and here Coates is emphasizing how the crimes committed against the Black community in the United States were as often about a more subtle, and more damaging, kind of theft rather than straightforward prohibition—whether it be through the theft of their labor under slavery or the predatory lending practices enabled by the FHA's redlining policy.
"Just one of my losses"
A motif in the piece, Coates uses this quote from Ross to underline how many African Americans had to accept incredible loss and tragedy as a part of everyday life, and how those losses have often been trivialized by larger American society.
