Racial Divisions And The World And Me And I And Assata

Coates employs inclusive language in the form of “we” the blacks. The essential idea in this however, is the exclusion of whites. He says, “Our moment is too brief. Our bodies are too precious. And you are here now, and you must live-and there is so much out there to live for…” (147) Through this significant assertion, Coates is not endeavoring to be relatable to whites, he is attending to the unabridged African American community, and most importantly, his son. The immediate effect of Coates’ racially pointed inclusive language is not only to rally and encourage the African

“What I told you is what your grandparents tried to tell me: that this is your country, that this is your world, that this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.” (Coates). This powerful quote exemplifies the mistreatment of blacks in America as something that has been prevalent throughout our nation’s history and is still present in our contemporary world. Our national founding document promised that “All men are created equal”. As a nation we have never achieved the goal of equality largely because of the institution of slavery and its continuing repercussions on American society.

Coates has the art of writing mastered. Throughout Between the World and Me, Coates used words like "disembody" and "black body" to force his message that white supremacy does in fact exist and it is time for the world to stop looking the other way. He does not show this in a pleading way. Instead, he uses powerful diction, as well as the depth of his personal experiences making the reader truly try to imagine oneself in that exact position to cause the audience to want change. Perhaps two of the most apparent instances, and best parts of his work, were when another African American boy pointed a gun at a younger boy in his adolescent years, and, also, when he explained how prejudiced it was that the officer that tracked down and killed Prince Jones was not charged because the cop was white. This message Coates was attempting to get across was in accordance with an article out of Social Problems: Readings that argued violence is not in fact random, but actually targets African Americans (Silver). He wrote from his heart which shows how real and dangerous the issues of black vs white are.

With regards to the famous 1950s and 1960s essayist James Baldwin, he eloquently writes about African Americans’ need for equality. In his essay “The White Man’s Guilt,” Baldwin states that African Americans’ equal feelings plummeted down so far that

Coates explains in detail how angry it makes him to know his race is worthless in a society were the dominant ones will always make them feel worthless. The labels “black” and “white” hold a sense of worth towards an individual which classifies them as powerless or powerful. Inequality will remain an issue due to those who seem careless for change. Change as a whole is impossible to occur when only a few are fighting for equality, which is why Coates shows no hope for the black community throughout his writing. What makes Coates writing unique is the fact that everything he brings up is related to his own experience living in the ghetto, having to struggle, and trying to survive the inequalities he is faced with day to day. (word

We are reminded of that history with every breath we take of injustice. The unfair treatment of blacks can mostly be attributed to lingering after effects of the end of the civil war and the bitter-sweet downfall of the confederacy. Violence that claims the pavement that we walk on and the lives of those who are our future. Poverty takes hold of the lives of the youth. The dehumanization of those who do not fit the social confines that have been drafted by those who try to crush the people they consider beneath them: It creates a new, invisible barrier that many choose to hold as the definitive disparity that cordially distinguishes the blacks from the

The most powerful messages I encountered in the Coates work “Between the World and Me” was the undervalue of black life and the false idea of the “American Dream” in the society of America. During Coates time at Howard University, he experienced the death of his classmate, Prince Jones. The death of his classmate leads him to the conclusion that the value of black life in America was not equal to that of the majority. He believed that the undervaluation of black life derived from the many years of laws established to construct the cultural barrier between blackness and whiteness, giving the false connotation that black life was beneath them.

Coates explains to his son about the perils of being black in America and the social injustices that occur within such as looting and violence. Coates calls to the reader’s

Coates makes the attempt to explain his idea of racism in America and the prejudice he has faced as a young, black male. He formats his book as a letter for his son who will face many of these same struggles in the future. I agree with Coates, to an extent, on the problems minority communities often face (most often the black community). A huge critique, though, is that Coates describes his struggles as “pure racism” and often judges that all “Dreamers” as the proprietors of the problems he sees. This is insulting and takes away from his main argument. “Pure racism” has not existed in this country in decades. No one can be denied access to any public entity, job, park, water

Coates perspective of race and racism in America is a viewpoint that is often shared amongst many writers. While his view is symmetrical with some writers, others have viewed the situation differently. Within this essay I plan to examine

We are being denied the “American” dream. Why is that the color of my skin makes me any less appreciated then the color of a white woman. No matter your skin complexion, in the end your achievements and success should speak for itself. Lastly, Coates entire letter to his is what every black child needs to know. As a young African American, I feel the need to change the world.

White people always saw themselves as being “above” the African Americans. For too long “’triple evils of racism, economic exploitations and militarism’ explaining the perils of capitalism and how that system is slanted against Americanized Africans” (“Dr. Martin

The American Dream does not exist for Black people. Sorry to break it to you, but that happy life you imagined with freedom, opportunity, success and that white picket fence is all an mirage that tricks us into escaping reality in order to live in an oblivious state that ignores all of the calamity experienced within our community. Coates reflects this idea by writing to his son, and unfortunately, he had to bombard his son with information of history and racism taking away his son’s oblivious innocence that white children are able to bear in order to protect him from his surrounding world.

The most powerful message in Coates’ “Between the World and Me” is that race is a construct that is enforced at the expense of black bodies. Coates says that “race is the child of racism” and I agree. The whole idea of people being white and black was created so that the “white” people could feel superior to the “black” people. The fact is that white and black people do not exist. So many people do not understand this and where race has come from which makes it and racism all the more harmful to the oppressed. Most white people in America are racist and they do not realize it because they do not understand their own identity and the identity of the people they oppress. There needs to be an end to the Us vs. Them mentality but this ignorance is continually taught to younger generations which repeats the same, horrific cycle.

From a young age, a Black child’s life is characterized by violence and poverty. The books focus largely on violence, specifically police brutality, which is an issue that has persisted through the second half of the twentieth century, and into the twenty-first. Shakur highlights the majority of the violence she encountered during the chapters about her time in prison. Being shot multiple times prior to being incarcerated, being manhandled while being escorted in and out of the courtroom are only a few of the abundant examples cited. She also faced other inhumanities, such as when she was pregnant and not receiving proper medical care, including when the prison doctor gave her false reports regarding her health status, malnutrition, and being kept in the filthy basement of an all-male prison. Despite these things, Shakur’s views on violence are somewhat mixed. Throughout her autobiography, a few passages describe how Shakur attacked guards, such as in the instance of them beating Kamau. Additionally, she briefly joined the Black Panther Party, a militant group known for using violence to advance their agenda. Otherwise, Shakur relied on uncooperative forms of resistance when serving her time such as refusing to stop running around in her cell or refusing to eat until she could see her doctor. Coates discusses violence in a much different way, constantly referring