Final answer:
Ta-Nehisi Coates advocates for economic reparations as a means of compensating for a history of structural racism, as argued in his essay 'The Case for Reparations.'
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Ta-Nehisi Coates, the appropriate measure to compensate for a history of structural racism is D. Economic reparations. In his seminal essay, "The Case for Reparations," published in The Atlantic in 2014, Coates argues that the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and discrimination in America is deeply intertwined with economic injustices that have compounded over time. To address these injustices, he advocates for reparations, an idea grounded in historical facts and a critical examination of systemic racism. Not just a form of apology and acknowledgment, reparations are a tangible way to compensate for past harms and economic oppression. Coates dismisses colorblind policies as insufficient in addressing the legacies of racism because they do not directly tackle the economic disparities caused by historical discrimination.