The Fire Next Time Summary

Not only being a gangster of the streets can be a reason for having your body taken, but also illegally selling cigarettes and simply walking home with a hood on can both be reasons for someone to come and “take your body”. These ideas are clearly and evidently illustrated by Coates in his use of the names of unarmed African Americans like Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin, who were innocently killed by people claiming to be the protectors. Coates not only references the unneeded deaths of these and other African Americans, but he also refers to the way justice is taken after the incident...it isn’t. It’s like after every death of an unarmed black person the justice system wants to get back at the public and the

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

The recently awarded 2015 National Book Award for Nonfiction author, Ta-Nehisi Coates, has stirred quite some debate over the author himself and the issue on race in America. He is harsh and direct when it comes to commenting on the political policies in America or even the president. Much of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s works are affected by his life living in America as a black person. The violent and “fearsome” life he has lived became the only form of life he is acquainted to. As a result, he strongly believes that white supremacy dominates, a condition which will never cease to be. Hope – being a central element to the black moment – is absent in his projections; this hopelessness in Coates’s works is a center of discussion to the critics. There exist strong supporters of Coates who applauds him for his truthfulness and there are some who view him as a pessimist and a cynic. All the while, Coates defends himself by saying that he is simply a realist who refuses to hide behind the blind naivete like the rest.

Many black political theorists, either through the legacy of their works, or through the explicit explanation in their text have sought to determine the role of the black intellectual ranging from renowned scholars such as Dr. Michael Eric Dyson to Dr. Cornel West. In a quest to better understand the burdens and expectations of the black intellectual, it is only reasonable to undergo a critical thought experiment into how prominent black political theorists such as Walter Rodney conceptualize the role of the black intellectual in context of constant oppression and erasure. Hence, this paper will focus on Walter Rodney’s speech “The Groundings with My Brothers” and evaluate the claims made therein regarding the role of the black

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

In “Modern Slavery,” PoliticalArticles (2011) notes that, in contemporary American society, more African-Americans are imprisoned today than were held as slaves prior to emancipation. In examining this phenomenon through the theoretical lens provided by Conflict Theory, the essay argues that imprisonment has come to represent a new “Jim Crow” in which poor urban African-Americans are now disproportionately incarcerated on the basis of the “War on Drugs.” Arguing that this structure is itself unjust, the essay thus by argues that the disproportionate focus on incarceration which prevails within this war is highly problematic as it pertains to social justice for the Black community. Concluding, it examines the draught of opportunities available to African-American minorities within American cities, via an overview of urban sociology, and proposes that macro level dynamics pertaining to the nature of the city are perpetuating the racialist implications of the War on Drugs.

Throughout the book, Coates briefly elaborates on how white people use harsh words and actions to try and tear down the black community. However, Coates asserts that “ Hate gives identity.” He continues this theory by writing “The nigger, the fag, the bitch illuminate the border, illuminate what we ostensibly are not.” Coates shows us that these hateful terms are actually beneficial. Ironically, these very words that are meant to tear us down, build us up by categorizing our people as things that we are not. Coates shows that these words that seemingly paint a true portrait of us are nothing but a false projection placed on our people. Coates goes on to show how society is set up on the standards and expectations of whiteness as these feelings are revealed through his writing “illuminate the Dream of being white, of being a Man.” The American Dream that we have been force fed is drawn directly from the perspective of the white man. Certain indicators of society, such as how to be a man, are defined from the perspective of the white man as well. Coates powerfully conveys that we should be creating our own standards of the American Dream. We should be fighting to bring

I was fourteen when I first became aware of black struggles, particularly in the United States. An innocent, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Martin was shot plainly because he was Black and yet, Zimmerman walked away a free man on the grounds of self-defense. His death had ignited something in me. A teenage boy was murdered because an ignorant, racist and self-glorified man had garnered the sympathy of the justice system. Truthfully, this was only a nudge to the direction. As sad it is, I was still naïve. However, with every bullet that pierced through each innocent black body, the systemic racism that had targeted the Black community for centuries had made itself known to me. More

In a book-length letter titled “Between the World and Me”, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes to his son about his personal experiences as a black man in America, a country built on the oppression of black people. Coates discusses race and police brutality in the lives of African Americans and how it constantly defeats us while some put in efforts to pursue the “American Dream”. Coates goal is to provide his son with advice based on his life at Howard and as he grows up. He does a great job at explaining to his son what it means to be African American man in this time period.

A letter from a father to his son, in a time many black men are considered absent fathers, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes the truth of black America and the problems racism has caused, “Race is the child of racism, not the father” (7). Reminiscent of James Baldwin’s letter written to his 15- year-old nephew, The Fire Next Time, Coates to write his own letter giving fatherly advice in hopes his son does not become another mishandled black body. He does not hold back the truth that black men are killed by those who have sworn to protect, with little hope of justice for those who have met an untimely end.

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

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,

Coates throughout the book brought up the tragic event of Mike Brown’s murder. He drew parallels between Brown’s case and Jones’, as well as parallels between Brown and his son. Stating that he could see how the extreme acts of violence perpetrated by the U.S police weighed on his son. I shared Coates anger about the disgusting way police treat black people in our country. Actually, I was fuming.

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

At the time that I am writing you this letter, horrendous things are happening to the black community, these things got me thinking about you and your future. Just like the novel Between The World and Me, Coates wrote a letter to his son and the world to enlighten them about the life in America and America true history. “I write to you in your fifteenth year. I am writing you because this was the year you saw Eric Gardner chocked to death for selling cigarettes, because you know that Renisha McBride was shot for seeking help, that john Crawford was shot down for browsing in a department store. And you have seen men in uniform drive by and murder Tamir Rice, a twelve year old child whom they were oath-bound to protect. And you have seen men in the same uniform pummel Marlene Pinnock, someone grandmother, on the side of the road. And you know now, if you did not before, that the police departments of your country have been endowed with authority to destroy your body”. (Coates 9), the author just explained to his son, how horrible life is for a black person living in America. He listed all these incidents that happened in the last two years and none of these people family got the justice that they deserve. I really don’t, maybe staying in Haiti would have been safer for you. In Haiti everyone is the same race, I am not going to get pulled over in Haiti because another black thinks that because I am black, I must be a criminal or doing something wrong. Therefore in Haiti you