The texts on this short list are either accessible introductions or basic primers to the debates over black reparations in the United States. Bernard Boxill’s entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy outlines the major philosophical arguments for reparations; Ta-Nehisi Coates offers an accessible history of black reparations claims in the United States; the two edited collections provide a useful archive of primary and secondary documents on reparations, and the two podcasts present both the history underlying reparations claims and major arguments for and against the issue in an accessible and engaging multimedia format. Any of these could be a starting point for a teacher or researcher interested in learning more about black reparations in the United States.
Boxill, Bernard, “Black Reparations“, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2016 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
In this entry, Bernard Boxill examines reparations from a philosophical perspective, considering the history reparations proposals alongside the work of John Locke, W.E.B. Du Bois, Thomas Rawls, and others. The entry concludes by considering the two main arguments for reparations on the basis of past harm and inherited inequality.
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “The Case for Reparations.” The Atlantic (2014).
As Ta-Nehisi Coates writes near the end of his article, “Reparations would mean a revolution of the American consciousness, a reconciling of our self-image as the great democratizer with the facts of our history.” His article approaches the case for reparations from an interdisciplinary perspective that stresses the entanglement of economics, politics, and culture, connecting the history of reparations proposals in the United States with the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and its decimation of black wealth.
Martin, Michael and Marilyn Yaquinto, eds. Redress for Historical Injustices in the United States: On Reparations for Slavery, Jim Crow, and Their Legacies. Durham: Duke University Press, 2007. 
This collection brings together primary and secondary texts on black reparations in the United States. Taking an interdisciplinary perspective, the essays cover the historical and legal justifications for reparations from a national and international perspective. The primary sources include legislative acts and resolutions, proposals from activist groups like the NAACP and Black Panthers, and government reports from commissions studying violence against African Americans.
National Public Radio. “Making Amends: Debate Continues Over Reparations for U.S. Slavery.”
This debate features Adjoa Aiyetora, a legal consultant to the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), and Robert Sedler, a law professor at Wayne State University, discussing the major arguments for and against the slavery reparations movement.
Saltzberger, Ronald Paul and Mary C. Turck. Reparations for Slavery: A Reader. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004.
Saltzberger and Turck’s text is an excellent primer to the topic of reparations, combining primary documents detailing demands for reparations with critical and theoretical essays that contextualize the history and controversy surrounding this issue.
Uncivil. “The Deed.” Gimlet Media. Podcast.
In this podcast, Jack Hitt and Chenjerai Kumanyika look back on the promise of 40 acres and a mule in the United States and how the failure to pay reparations to emancipated slaves continues to have effects into the 21st century.