We will discuss Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me at our meeting on Wednesday, January 18th at 4:15p.m. in the GAHS library. Please post questions, comments, concerns, criticism, and the like on this blog prior to, during, or after our meeting (before Jan 20th if you want extra credit). All questions and responses should indicate an active reading of the text and function to move the conversation forward. (Note: surface-level or obvious questions and responses will not count as participation.)
Those of you unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts may participate in the discussion below by posting a discussion question and offering a detailed response, or by responding to two questions already posted. The note above applies here as well, so heed it!
Ta-Nehisi Coates tackles a very difficult topic of race. In his novel, he addressed many issues with the hidden complexity of every analogy. He doesn’t only cover police brutality, but he reaches out to the root of the issue by discussing how his appearance is viewed as threating to others. He starts his novel by Introducing the idea that “race is the child of racism, not the father.” He speaks very straight forward about inequality, that many tip toe around. He brings the reality of American hypocrisy by explaining that racism is what caused the importance of race. That without racism no one would care about your ancestry or your hue, they would just be classified as human. He wants the reader to acknowledge that the discussing of race seems to be perceived as racism, fooling people to believe that race is the father or cause. He follows his explanation of racism, with an explanation of self-hate because of race. He clears up the confusion by stating black people don’t want to be white, they are proud of who they are. However, black people do want the rights and freedom that comes with being a white man in the United States. Once he makes sure his readers understand that commonly misinterpreted concept, he introduces police brutality. I thought this set up was very clever: that he wanted to speak with someone with an open mind. Also that he gets his ideas across in an unbiased atmosphere because the reader in not reading based on their point of view and personal beliefs yet. This gives Coates the advantages of changing the perspective of a very serious, yet controversial situation.
Going into reading this book, I had very high expectations. From classmates to teachers, all I heard about was how eye-opening and amazing this book was. And let me start by saying, they were right on target. I am not usually a “heavy reader” type of person, but I could not put down Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It made me realize how truly close-minded I was before. Something that I think made the book all the more effective for me was the fact that Coates was speaking to his son. All of the issues about oppression and racism, from his upbringing in Baltimore, to the murder of his friend Prince Jones, seemed all the more real and intense when they were being told to a young person. Because of the way news stations broadcast information these days, and especially due to the recent election and resistance that came along with it, I think my view of the world and the problems surrounding racism were very sheltered. Yet, by reading this book and getting to hear first-hand experiences, like Coates’ time at Howard University, or his difficult upbringing in a rough area, I was able to really begin to understand the hardship that many people face in American that I can’t even fathom, simply because they have a different skin color than I do.
Overall, my favorite part of the book and the most inspirational/ eye-opening was when Coates visited Prince Jone’s mother. Being able to get yet another perspective on this issue of racism that is still so prominent in our society today really made all of the points throughout the book all the more effective to me.
Overall, I believed that Ta-Nehisi Coates’s book Between the World and Me was very eye-opening in a sense that he addressed the issue not for himself, but for the importance of his son. There was no sugar-coating, he did not hide anything because he felt that nothing was necessary to hide in this world of oppression that he continues to face. Many of the situations he went through such as the death of Prince Jones and when a family tried to push his son’s baby carriage had given him this mindset that he was constantly out-of-place in America.
One of the biggest ideas I felt that I worked well throughout this book is that each paragraph seemed like a different story. He seemed to transition from each topic fluidly throughout these paragraphs, and it seemed more like a stream of consciousness than a story, which I felt worked well for what he was going for.
Yet, the one area that I felt he fell short on in his argument was his proposed solution to the issue. One of the first times when Coates seeks to discuss this issue is when he states “I do not believe that we can stop them, Samori, because they must ultimately stop themselves” (151). He wants the oppression to be stopped in its tracks in this sense, through this realization that he makes. But do you believe that this can be feasible? After years of discrimination, do you think that people can “ultimately stop themselves” as he thinks they can?
Thank you for bringing this up Sarah, because I was left asking myself the same question! What can we do to fix this injustice and racism Americans are facing? While I like Coates’ optimistic view in saying that “they must ultimately stop themselves”, but in reality, this doesn’t seem reasonable (151). In order for significant change to occur, something has to be done. In other words, we can’t just sit around waiting for Americans to one day decide everyone should be equal and act on it, because that isn’t going to happen. Discrimination is almost ingrained in the roots of America, so to think people can “ultimately stop themselves” is naive. Instead, I think movements, such as the Women’s March that has just occurred after the inauguration, and other equality based protests and groups need to continue in order to spread the message of equality for all. While I don’t (sadly) think this issue is going to be resolved any time soon, we cannot sit and wait for the world to change like Coates and claiming we should, we have to take action.
I absolutely loved this book because it gave me a new perspective to what life is like for minorities and explained how the African American community has repeatedly been neglected throughout our nation’s history. As a white suburban, I rarely am able to truly relate to stories of racial tension I hear on the news or read online. Coates’, however, told his highly emotional story in a personal way that was easy to understand and sympathize with. The portion of this book that appealed to me the most was Coates’ description of the school system’s mistreatment of urban minorities during his childhood. I have always been a firm believer that enhancing urban schools is the only true way to invest in the next generation of minorities. Do you think the issues that Coates faced in his school growing up still exist today, or have they changed? What can be done to fix these issues and better the lives of minorities in our nation’s educational system?
I agree with you that it was so easy to understand and sympathize with him because of how emotional the story he told was. I also think a reason why is was so easy to sympathize with Coates was because of how vulnerable he was in his writing, he didn’t leave out any details and definitely didn’t hide his views or feelings. I also found that part of the book interesting where Coates described his mistreatment in the school system and I still believe that there are issues within the education system that must be fixed.
I feel the same way Lauren! I have never felt I could relate to anything I hear on the news or read online due to the fact that I have never been faced with that type of adversity, but Coates made it so easy to understand and begin to relate to. Pertaining to your question about urban schools and the issues Coates faced while in school, yes, I think they absolutely still exist today! We can see it in our own city of Richmond that the differences between Henrico County and Richmond City are uncanny. Because of the lack of funding in these lower-income areas, they are not able to thrive as easily as we are. While Coates continued his education at Howard University, this is not as simple for many inner-city students. It is often a struggle to get many students to graduate high school, let alone go to college, so by motivating these students in some way, I think these lower-income school systems could improve greatly. Thank you for bringing up this point, I was focused on so many other aspects of the book I didn’t think about this too much!
This book opened my eyes to a new view on the world in a lenses that I hadn’t seen through before. The part of the book where Coates compared 9/11 to the actions taken against African Americans was a part that didn’t sit well with me. Comparing Ground Zero to southern Manhattan seemed like an extreme example of the cruelty taken against African Americans. In 9/11 thousands of Americans died, from every race and ethnicity, and comparing that to the violence against African Americans didn’t seemed justified to me. Of course, as Coates described, there have been countless acts of inhumanity towards African Americans so I am not trying to degrade their struggle at all. But to say that the police that risked their lives to save helpless people are the same as the ones who killed Prince Jones seemed like a drastic comparison. I am wondering if anyone else found this part of the book a little off putting or if some found it to be an accurate example. The pages that cover this topic were 86-88.
I agree with your opinion on comparing 9/11 to southern Manhattan.It took me off-guard slightly too. It seems to be a false analogy. 9/11 was not an attack on a certain race or ethnicity. It was an attack against the country as a whole. Yes, the African American community is discriminated against and there are inhumane actions placed upon them, but not in comparison with 9/11.
As someone who lived 25 miles away from The Twin Towers when they fell, this comparison was a bit unsettling for me. I don’t think it was appropriate to compare the suffering of those who lost loved ones on 9/11 with the losses of the black community because the situations are far too different. However, I do see why he chose to include that. I think he wanted to make this comparison because 9/11 is widely discussed and the issues of minorities are less frequently reported about. He wanted the audience to realize that, while death is not happening all during one event, the acts against minorities have added up over the years.
That is really good point Lauren! I hadn’t thought of that comparison, but now that you bring it up it does make more sense to me. I agree that the acts against the minorities have added up and that they should be more reported and talked about.
Between the world and me- An in depth synthesis, yet personal story of living as an African American in America, but also as any minority. Within the first few pages of the book I had already traveled back in time to get a better look at what Ta-Nehisi Coates’ was presenting. Many underestimate what it is like to live as a minority in America, but Coates put it into a perspective by naming the multiple people who were killed by our “authorities” (Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, etc,), and how our “authorities” are supposed to be protecting them. Throughout the book I kept returning to my question from the beginning; Why is this still happening? Why are people being discriminated against due to their skin color, religion, ethnicity? Coates looked into answering these questions by attending Howard University where his eyes were opened to the marveling diversity. He was proud of his race, which he should be, so he decided to further his studies in black history, and black writers. I believe the segment where his classmate Prince Jones had been killed over something completely unreasonable, introduced us to who Coates really was. This death meant so much more to him than the one’s he had mentioned before. Yes, he cared deeply about those, but he didn’t personally know those victims. He had every right to be angry at ALL authorities, not just the individual who took the life of Jones.
The authorities are the exact and direct expression of Americans Belief.
Why is the destruction of black lives part of American Culture?
Why is the destruction of any life part of American Culture?
How can we fix this?
Why aren’t authorities trained to protect ALL races and ethnicity, and RESPECT all citizens for who they are?
Personally, I believe their needs to be a reform in the police force with new rules where they can only shoot and harm the suspect if their is solid proof and evidence the suspect is harming or trying to harm another. Reforms are needed, and that will be a big step forward to improving black lives.
By Coates writing directly to his son, it allows reader to imagine him writing and speaking directly to them as well. It allows for a further look into the personal side of the story, seeing past the facts and the story line, and discovering the true meaning. It was a guide to his son to warn and inform him of what it was like, and how it still is to be living as an African American, or minority in America.
Coates’ goal was to wake America up from this “American Dream” that all is well, there is no controversy, no discrimination, no differences, and there is all peace. If people keep living this dream and don’t wake up, they will be ignoring the reality. Black Lives may not change, but maybe they will. It all depends on what everyone as a whole wants to do about it. Until them, African Americans should find some joy in their life because it is the life to live and things won’t be changing overnight. Don’t live in despair your entire life. Keep working, but find joy.
I agree with you that by writing this for his son allowed for the book to take an interesting spin. Coates was able to talk personally to his son and reveal many personal experiences that may not have come out if he was writing to strangers. At some points while reading I became confused because I had forgotten that he was talking to his son so the conversation didn’t make sense.
I also agree with you that the authorities need some reform. I know that systems have been put in place so that police officers are required to wear cameras and solutions such as that.
The only thing that I disagree with you on is the idea that he had the authority to be angry at all of the authorities simply because of a few crooked ones. There are obviously bad police officers out there but I don’t think that constitutes saying that all police officers are out to get the African American community.
Yes, I see what you’re saying. I believe he felt angry towards all authorities due to the personal connection to the victim, but in retrospect he shouldn’t really have been angry at all of them. It wasn’t the fault of all authorities ever, but it was the fault of the individual and possibly the academy and force that trained him. Thank you for your insight!
I agree with you with the idea that we can not generalize the actions of a few police officers to the entire group. He felt a deep hatred to these few officers for their disrespect and hatred, and put this on all officers. I feel that these solutions that you have stated, such as cameras, will be much needed and accepted by many regarding this issue. It will help others with similar opinions to Coates feel that they are being heard, and in turn reform the police force. Although there will be some who do not feel that this is not necessary, for the good of the country these reforms are needed.
To answer your question, “How can we fix this?” I would like to mention the implications that urban schools have on minorities. 70 plus percent of minorities in this country live in inner cities. If our nation gave more funding to these school, they could provide these students with the same resources as suburban schools. As a result of their increased education, these students would have greater opportunities after graduation. The disenfranchisement of African Americans would drastically decrease by giving them a better chance of getting a degree and entering higher levels of the work force. While this investment might take time to develop, the overall status of minorities would raise if they were given an equal opportunity to achieve the American dream.
I agree that we should reform the police force, but this will take time. We need something that will be long-lasting to make more of a change – and I agree that we need to be a reform in the police force for everyone. If we do not do this, what will happen? We have seen already how the automatic thought that someone is guilty without proper evidence has cause these deaths, as noted by Coates, that could have been prevented.
He is in some senses writing to his son as a call to action, and I agree with what you are saying in trying to imagine what he had been through. It makes me think that he wants his son to grow up to answer the questions that we have developed from his book, sort of a response to what he has seen throughout his life as well. If we get this response of sorts from his son in the future, it would seem to me that Coates’ goal as you say to “keep working, but find joy” would be achieved.