Coates 'Unattainable Change: Between Between The World And Me'

“Last Sunday the host of a popular news show asked me what it meant to lose my body”(Coates 5). The phrase “lose my body” is reiterated numerous times in Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The topic/theme of this piece of literature may be discernable as innocence as Ta-Nehisi profusely speaks of how his upbringing changed and affected his perspective on life. Coates uses a multitude of examples to portray this from how he witnessed another boy almost being shot at a young age to him learning and understanding the laws and “culture of the streets”(Coates 24) as who and even more who not to mess with(Coates 23). Coates effectively uses these examples as perfect representations of living in an American ghetto as well as how since birth blacks do not “own” their body and are susceptible to lose it.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a book that demands attention in today 's society where racism and hostility towards the black community are still very common. The book is written in the form of a letter to Coates’s son where he examines the black body and how it is viewed in the world by white americans. Coates gives insight into relevant social justice issues such as Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Trayvon Martin and provides an intense reality depicting the life of those in the black community. Coates describes his life growing up and explains the ever changing realizations he comes to regarding the black body as he grows and develops. He takes the readers on a journey through his experiences and education, allowing us to directly see his opinions regarding the black body develop and reshape over time. Coates focuses in on his different forms of education and how they influenced his opinions on power and freedom of the black body. Ultimately through his life experiences and education Coates realizes that the black body can be viewed as simultaneously powerful and powerless within society.

Instead he describes a reality where a divide permanently exists between these two factions, those who live in the "Dream" and everyone else who I can only guess live in "Reality". Despite this divisive nature about Coates, he does reveal a more redeeming quality about him as well. There is a portion in the book where Coates realizes the struggle in only identifying yourself by the color of your skin. Coates goes through his cultural history and finds the constant disagreement within his own culture about how the community's identity should be shaped and portrayed. Coates has a few truly inspiring lines where he quotes Ralph Wiley and states that "Tolstoy is the Tolstoy of the Zulus". For that brief moment Coates expresses an opinion that the talents of one individual is neither owned by nation or race. Instead Coates projects a philosophy that the genius hidden instead of men belongs to the world as a global community. It is that very genius that can be found in any individual, regardless of whatever sub-category that we choose to put ourselves

He explains the discrimination African Americans experienced. James Baldwin, an author and activist for African American rights, discussed similar concepts in his debate against William F. Buckley at the Cambridge University in 1965. Reservation Blues, written by Sherman Alexie, is a novel that discusses Native Americans and their oppression in modern American society. Between the World and Me is written in the form of a letter to the author’s fifteen-year-old son, Samori, who seeks for a better sense of racial discrimination and come to terms with a society that refuses to guarantee the freedoms that others take for granted. This style makes a very effective argument, as one feels connected with Coates and his argument due to the use of pathos, or the appeal of emotions. Coates attempts to answer these questions by sharing the story of his awakening to the truth through a series of personal experiences. A great quality of the book is that it is not addressed to white people, as the usual filtration and distortion of ideas when discussing race to public is not present in this

In part one of “Between the World and Me,” Coates gives constant examples on how the black community deals with the loss of their bodies and violence on the daily. He makes his argument by being brutally honest. He does not hold back when talking on the subject, making the reader feel somewhat convicted after reading. He uses the element of right timing throughout part one to show how intense racism still is.

“Between the World and Me”, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, is a letter written to his son about what it means to be black and how tough it is to be a part of this race in the United States of America. In this book, Coates talks about his life in the black community, starting from childhood memories all the way to present day. Coates also tries sends a message, which is that his son should not lower his guard and be completely confident about who he is, instead he should be afraid about what the world is capable of doing to a black man. In this work, Coates disagrees on what it means to be black or white in America.

The US is appealing in the eyes of other countries, and even ourselves, because of the “free” and “equal” characteristics we claim ourselves to have, such as: freedom of religion, freedom to own private property, and freedom of equal justice. However, in the eyes of an African America, Atlantic Monthly Journalist, we see that all of these freedoms find a loophole when it comes to the black community. In Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book Between the World and Me, he writes from a political, yet deeply personal standpoint to analyze today’s version of racism. Coates strays away from his usual journalist works to a more deeper and personal view. His book is devoted to his fifteen-year-old son, Samori, and provides him with guidance through the struggle of racism; all while letting Samori fend for himself. Coates’ lets his son know all this through history, and heritage; of his own and of America’s.

“Black students were expelled at three times the rate of white students.” (Steven Hsieh, 2014) Until now, we are still finding unequal treatment from school in American Society from different aspects, such as school discipline, early learning, college readiness and teacher equity. However, education is more than learning from books. Education enables individuals potential to utilize human mind and open doors of opportunities to obtain knowledge. But the US educational system doesn’t serve the majority of children properly and gaps remain between white and black students. What’s more, nowadays, a lot of schools only treat education as a curriculum and test scores; ignoring the stimulus of curiosity. Therefore, “Between the World and Me” is a book written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, who weaves his own personal, historical, and intellectual development into his ruminations on how to live in a black body in America. In this book, Coates writes about education and pleasures of his own educational experience in Howard University. Although bad education hides the truth and restricts students’ ideas, education also contains pleasures, which broaden people’s mind, help people build their own thoughts, and prevent people from prison. As a result, there are more pleasures in American education that positively impact on black body than dangers.

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me has been compared favorably with James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time. The book begins with a letter to his nephew which Coats mimics in writing to his son. Themes of ‘Bodies’ related to racial identity, the experience of being black in America, and how to break down racial barriers are very prominent in both books however they vary slightly.

In today’s America, there are still people in America who wholeheartedly believe that Black people are inferior to White. This isn’t news to anyone. America’s history has always been characterized by racial divisions and painted with colored blood. Since America’s founding, “The People” never truly meant all people. But it’s 2017. Slavery has been abolished for more than 150 years. Segregation and Jim Crow were outlawed in the 60’s. However, growing up Black in America today is defined by fear of being attacked for simply existing. There is still an invisible line carved by prejudice and bigotry that divides the races, that limits the ability for Black people to become successful or achieve what Coates refers to as “The Dream”. Together,

“To yell ‘black-on-black crime’ is to shoot a man and then shame him for bleeding” (Coates 111). I was not surprised when I read this quote because it is exactly something I would expect Coates to say. Throughout Between the World and Me Coates offers powerful lines that make the audience feel as strongly as he did, such as this. This quote also did not surprise me because of its truth, to pin black people against each other and then shame them for it is

“And though I could never, myself, be a native of any of these worlds, I knew that nothing so essentialist as race stood between us. I had read too much by then. And my eyes—my beautiful, precious eyes—were growing stronger each day. And I saw that what divided me from the world was not anything intrinsic to us... ” (Coates 154) Coates understands that seeing the world from different perspectives humbles the mind. He no longer had to live with the stigma of being a black man in America.

In Ta-Nehisi Coates’ essay, “Letter to My Son,” published by The Atlantic, he argues that in America it is customary to be oblivious to the suffering of black people due to people that believe they are white wanting a white America. He supports this claim by first describing how throughout history, people believing in white privilege regard themselves superior than those of color. An example that Coates used to show his son would be when a white woman pushed him and Coates recalled that, “There was the reaction of any parent when a stranger puts a hand on the body of their child. And there was my own insecurity in my ability to protect your black body. And more: There was my sense that this woman was pulling rank.” Another point Coates makes

In his essay, "Just Walk on By" Brent Staples explains how throughout his life, it is hard being a black man without having others discriminate against him because he is a tall, black man who works as a journalist in a predominantly white field. In Ta-Nehisi Coates book Between the World and Me Coates is addressing his son about the truth of being black in a society that is inherently races and the constructed stereotypes on them by those in power. Both Coates and Staples agree on the fact that the black body is being systematically oppressed by the powers of this society. Being born black which is something Coates and Staples has no control over, causes them to be perceived as a negative stereotype of black people. This is a world where the black body has been oppressed and damaged throughout history, but yet maintain a fearful presence implied by Staples piece. In Brent staples “Just Walking by”, a black male’s body is capable of altering public space because the stereotypical projection of their race, causing others to do irrational things damaging he black body.

This question is important to ask since they are two completely different environments that he experienced. He proclaimed that the laws he earned on the street were “essential to the security of my body” (Coates 24). Yet, when he was in the classroom, he states that the schools “had no time for the childhoods of black boys and girls” (Coates 25). Very clearly, two different environments where one you are being treated as a nobody, and one where you have to always be aware of your surroundings. Based on the dictation of the settings, my best guess would be the streets. From there, he learned how to fit in, he learned the different language that he needed to survive and blend in. Along with that, Coates was placed in a French class when he was