Racism InBetween The World And Me

Coates spent his childhood years in a poor Baltimore public school, a system that “mostly meant always packing an extra number 2 pencil and working quietly” (Coates 25). He grew up believing that “The world had no time for the childhoods of black boys and girls” (Coates 25). School was not to him a place of education but rather an institution whose purpose was to train the students to obey and conform. “Algebra, Biology, and english were not subjects so much as opportunities to better discipline the body” (Coates 25).

Racial injustice and Black oppression is a topic seen in every newspaper and on every news station today. A topic considered taboo in most social situations, is taken on by Tu-Nehisi Coates in “A Letter to My Son”. Coates creates an environment of familiarity, acceptance and relatability for the reader by using powerful words choice and language that invokes emotions. Vulnerability and anger from his experience incorporate a personal view and stake in the heated topic which is enhanced by a letter which eases tension on a heated topic.

Between the World and Me, written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, is written as a letter to his son about realities associated with being black in the United States of America. His tone is somewhat poetic and quite bleak, based on his personal experiences. The book is intense, it is an address to a nation that ignores its own blatant history of racism, a nation that does not prosecute police officers who kill innocent black citizens, a nation that supports a policy of mass incarceration. He writes about growing up in Baltimore, Maryland and details the ways in which institutions (school, police, and the streets) discipline, endanger, and threaten to harm black men and women. Between the World and Me is an intimate confession of the fears of a black American father.

This book tackled many situations that people of color face on an everyday basis. For example, in one situation Coates and his son were faced with mistreatment. A white lady pushed Coates son, rushing him to hurry up, in an act of showing who was boss, the author tells how he became upset with the situation. What ended up happening was that because of the way Coates defended his child people began to scream at him and threaten to call the police for his behaviors. He states that he faced a state of shock, he was unaware, how cruel people could be and how much power white people attained. (94) This example shows how people misjudge a person of color it doesn’t matter if they did something right, they are being called out just by the pigment of their skin. It goes to show that the statement Coates said was true “not being violent enough could me my body. Being too violent could cost me my body.” (28) Either way one may look at a situation, for a person of color, it can go bad and seeing through the eyes of this author we become aware that social racism still exists in today’s

Between the World and Me has been called a book about race, but the author argues that race itself is a flawed, if anything, nothing more than a pretext for racism. Early in the book he writes, “Race, is the child of racism, not the father.” The idea of race has been so important in the history of America and in the self-identification of its people and racial designations have literally marked the difference between life and death in some instances. How does discrediting the idea of race as an immutable, unchangeable fact changes the way we look at our history? Ourselves? In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and the current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the

“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

One lesson that Coates teaches his son is that the Black body is extremely fragile. When Coates used to live in Baltimore murder was, sadly, a common thing. He recalls that in 1986, when he was

After I read this book, Bewteen The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, I was left in a state of awe. This novel was an experience that I am grateful to have had. Between The World and Me is a phenomenal letter to Samori Coates, the teenage son of the author. This book tells the story of a young man growing up in a completely different world than I am growing up in even though Ta-Nehisi Coates grew up in America. This story provides a detailed insight into what it is like to grow up and live in America as an African- American male. It illustrates what it is like to go to school, play in the streets, work in a job, live in a city, and how society views you, as a black person living in the United States.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, may be addressed to Coates’ son. However, the messages within the book are relevant and important towards our society. While Coates mentioned many themes, the most powerful message was the concept of race. He states that race and racism are man-made concepts created in an attempt to establish a social hierarchy favorable towards “white” supremacy. These very notions are what our “free” country was built upon and are still dealing with today. The police brutality, the hate crimes, the mass incarceration, these are continuous tactics against our community to promote the racism and supremacy within America. This message forces you to think and wonder, “How could you be considered a free country, when every concept is based this unnatural theory?”

Racism is a problem many black people encounter. They must overcome hate, ridicule, and ignorance of other people. In the book, Between the World and Me, the author, Ta-Nehisi Coates explains, in a letter, racism in America to his fifteen year old son. Choosing to format it as a letter was a great idea because it let him get on a deeper, emotional level with us, the reader.

Between the World and Me examines the history and present circumstances of racial inequality and segregation in America. Coates directs the book to Samori to give his audience personal insight into the various stages of a black man’s life. From his childhood, to his college experience, to his complicated role as a father, Coates gradually unfolds a critical account of the relationship between black and white communities. He calls those who “believe themselves to be white” the “Dreamers” and criticizes them for the indifference toward black people 's experiences. He wants the audience to reflect upon themselves and realize that they are part of the problem.

Within essay one, Black Men in Public Spaces by Brent Staples it describes the life and experiences of a young African American man living between Chicago and New York City over about a ten year span. Due to stereotypes on his race, society assumes he compliments them resulting in being viewed as dangerous

In Ta-nehishi Coates’ novel entitled Between the World and Me, the author argues how blacks are oppressed and the privilege of whites. Coates pens this novel in the style of a letter to his son about police brutality and the separate reality of blacks and whites. Coates themes regard the exploitation of black people and the controversy of an American’s democracy, considering there was never such a thing. There is an example of when President Lincoln announced the United States being ruled by a government of the people, but the irony in that because Blacks were not considered as people then. The message in Between the World and Me is for African-Americans find their dignity, compassion and authority, and accept the responsibility of sharing

Between the World and Me had a profound message written to Coates’ son about the protection of the black body and more importantly, the misconception of the Dream. This idea of the Dream is an illusion created by whites that can only be achieved by whites. The Dream is a misconception because the Dreamers are lying on the backs of African Americans. The Dreamers are reaping what blacks have built. This idea of a constant yet misguided pursuit of the Dream ties back into protection of the black body. History has told us over and over again that there is not a goal to cherish the black body. In fact, Coates discusses how destroying the black body is heritage. Movements and protests have tried hard to do so but Coates writes that their goal is

Ta-Nehisi Coates novel between the world and me depicts his own personal adventure dealing with the state of America’s most on going ideals of racism. He speaks upon how it has embedded itself into our society and how many, not only whites having been willing to embrace this discrimination with open arms. Whether it be through the message that I find most significant; referred to as the “Dream” or the three personal takeaway which all coincide with black strength and suffrage. The novel is not only a personal recollection but an eye opening to the black community to begin seeing what is actually there.