Ta-Nehisi Coates

Between the World and Me

Winner, Kirkus Prize for Non-Fiction, 2015 In the 150 years since the end of the Civil War and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, the story of race and America has remained a brutally simple one, written on flesh: it is the story of the black body, exploited to create the country's foundational wealth, violently segregated to unite a nation after a civil war, and, today, still disproportionately threatened, locked up and killed in the streets. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can America reckon with its fraught racial history? Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’ attempt to answer those questions, presented in the form of a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son the story of his own awakening to the truth about history and race through a series of revelatory experiences: immersion in nationalist mythology as a child; engagement with history, poetry and love at Howard University; travels to Civil War battlefields and the South Side of Chicago; a journey to France that reorients his sense of the world; and pilgrimages to the homes of mothers whose children's lives have been taken as American plunder. Taken together, these stories map a winding path towards a kind of liberation—a journey from fear and confusion, to a full and honest understanding of the world as it is. Masterfully woven from lyrical personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me offers a powerful new framework for understanding America's history and current crisis, and a transcendent vision for a way forward. Ta-Nehisi Coates is a national correspondent for the Atlantic and the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle. Coates has received the National Magazine Award, the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism, and the George Polk Award for his Atlantic cover story 'The Case for Reparations'. He lives in New York with his wife and son. ‘Coates offers this eloquent memoir as a letter to his teenage son, bearing witness to his own experiences and conveying passionate hopes for his son's life...this moving, potent testament might have been titled Black Lives Matter.’ Kirkus Reviews ‘I’ve been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates. The language of Between the World and Me, like Coates’ journey, is visceral, eloquent and beautifully redemptive. And its examination of the hazards and hopes of black male life is as profound as it is revelatory. This is required reading.’ Toni Morrison ‘Extraordinary...Ta-Nehisi Coates...writes an impassioned letter to his teenage son—a letter both loving and full of a parent’s dread—counselling him on the history of American violence against the black body, the young African-American’s extreme vulnerability to wrongful arrest, police violence, and disproportionate incarceration.’ David Remnick, New Yorker ‘A searing meditation on what it means to be black in America today...as compelling a portrait of a father–son relationship as Martin Amis’s Experience or Geoffrey Wolff’s The Duke of Deception.’ New York Times ‘Coates possesses a profoundly empathetic imagination and a tough intellect...Coates speaks to America, but Australia has reason to listen.’ Monthly ‘Heartbreaking, confronting, it draws power from understatement in dealing with race in America and the endless wrong-headed concept that whites are somehow entitled to subjugate everyone else.’ Capital ‘In our current global landscape it’s an essential perspective, regardless of your standpoint.’ Paperboy

Celina Hoang Vo ♥︎

And still I urge you to struggle. Struggle for the mnemory of your ancestors. 

I do not believe that we can stop them, Samori, because they must ultimately stop themselves. 

It was the cotton that passed through our chained hands that inaugurated this age. 

The Earth is not our creation. It has no respect for us. It has no use for us. 

They made us into a race. We made ourselves into a people. 

 I assumed that this would have been bard on her, but she was insulted by the assumption.

And have brought humanity to the edge of oblivion: because they think they are white.

Black life is cheap, but in America black bodies are a natural resource of incomparable value.

if there is any comfort in this, it is not the kind that I would encourage you to indulge.

. We will always be black, you and I, even if it means different things in differ- ent places. 

 And I am now ashamed of the thought, ashamed of my fear, of the generational chains I tried to clasp onto your wrists. 

. I think of your grandmother calling me and noting how you were growing tall and would one day try to "test me" And I said to her that I would regard that day, should it come, as the total failure of fatherhood be- cause if all I had over you were my hands, then I really had nothing at all. 

I am wounded. I am marked by old codes, which shielded me in one world and then chained me in the next. 

, and if I have not said it with the same direction and clarity, I confess that is because I am afraid. And I have no God to hold me up. 

 "You exist. You matter. You have value. You have every right to wear your hoodie, to play your music as loud as you want. You have every right to be you. And no one should deter you from being you. You have to be you. And you can never be afraid to be you."

I did not want to raise you in fear or false memnory. I did not want you forced to mask your joys and bind your eyes. What I wanted for you was to grow into consciousness. I resolved to hide nothing from you. 

 I would have you be a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world.

The people who must believe they are white can never be your measuring stick.

Lara Engle

altlovesbooks

I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said here. It's a fantastic book, written by a fantastic man, about circumstances that shouldn't exist. I'm not the key demographic this book is aimed at, but I still walked away with something, even if that something is a vague sadness at how we ended up here at this point.

Not only is this book beautifully written, it eloquently depicts both the current and historical narrative of America. It reveals the American Dream for what it is: a justification of oppression.
The writing is deeply personal, and Coates’s vulnerability shows a level of authenticity that truly makes a difference.
Should be required reading

Cindy

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 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 world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

Source: http://www.booksontape.com/book/220290/between-the-world-and-me/

Cheri Fuller

I don't know that I can add anything that hasn't already been said by just about any of the reviews I've seen about this book. 

The author's voice - both written and spoken - is clear and authentic and powerful. As a white woman who grew up in a racial diverse family in a racially diverse area, there were some things in the book that I absolutely recognized but even more that I'll never experience. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Emma

An illuminating read that evokes a deeper understanding of what it means to be Black in America. Coates guides the reader to question the narratives of countries and cultures through autobiographical prose in an open letter to his son. Because of this framework, the books has a uniquely intimate tone which invites the reader into a new realm of understanding.

This is one of those books that I believe everyone benefits from reading. Between the World and Me serves as a reminder that there is a vision of the future worth fighting for, though it may not seem visible now. Ta-Nehisi Coates wields language so powerfully and effortlessly; all in his effort to prepare his son for the horrors of reality for those who have been labeled with and negatively affected by the illusion of race.  

“But race is the child of racism, not the father. And the process of naming “the people” has never been a matter of genealogy and physiognomy so much as one of hierarchy. Difference in hue and hair is old. But the belief in the preeminence of hue and hair, the notion that these factors can correctly organize a society and that they signify deeper attributes, which are indelible—this is the new idea at the heart of these new people who have been brought up hopelessly, tragically, deceitfully, to believe that they are white.”

This is one of those books that I believe everyone benefits from reading. Between the World and Me serves as a reminder that there is a vision of the future worth fighting for, though it may not seem visible now. Ta-Nehisi Coates wields language so powerfully and effortlessly; all in his effort to prepare his son for the horrors of reality for those who have been labeled with and negatively affected by the illusion of race.  

“But race is the child of racism, not the father. And the process of naming “the people” has never been a matter of genealogy and physiognomy so much as one of hierarchy. Difference in hue and hair is old. But the belief in the preeminence of hue and hair, the notion that these factors can correctly organize a society and that they signify deeper attributes, which are indelible—this is the new idea at the heart of these new people who have been brought up hopelessly, tragically, deceitfully, to believe that they are white.”

The book starts of interesting but it is rather repetitive with the main ideas and concepts. 

Ksenija 

Matthew Royal

This book is a chronicle of the mental and emotional changes of a sensitive man living in a black body in America. It's at times poetic and honest about deep emotion, and though most of the time he's addressing his son, the author speaks to the silent observer who takes their white body for granted in the luxury of ignorance. He never uses the term "white privilege," and he's less accusing than James Baldwin, but he welcomes the reader into his head and to see with his eyes.

"I wanted you to see different people living by different rules."

Coates has a complicated relationship with the place that he grew up. He complains that he was in a fight for survival, keeping his body safe, and putting him at the very bottom rung of Maslowe's hierarchy of needs. However, he justifies the very system of violence that he abhors, he casts it as an act of defiant identity creation and protection for the people living in his community from outsiders. It's very complicated for him as he talks to his son. He wants the best for his son, and he doesn't want him "blinded by fear" when dealing with the rest of the world, but he still wants him to remember where he came from and the struggle of his people, who are they his people? Are they really a race? Race is a concept created by the oppressor, so it can't be that. The conflict of wanting to pass on your child a Heritage, but not the negative aspects of that heritage hold universal appeal.

His experience of feeling free from all of the racial baggage that he experienced every day in New York City is not uncommon among American people in Paris. The idea that learning French in school seems pointless because you don't know any French people to talk to transforms into realizing subjects like French are Bridges to other universes with a different culture, with an entirely different way of thinking, and an entirely different way of perceiving beauty.

anna near

Between the World and Me was searing and painful. In essays written to his son, Te-Nehisi Coates examines what it means to be Black and shows how slavery and racism still have an impact on society today in the United States. He describes his experiences as a child growing up in Baltimore in blunt, cynical, and devastating prose. As a white girl, to see the world and experiences from the perspective of a person of color was very invaluable to me. I read it one sitting as the writing was very continuous, and I found it impossible to put down. The author's honesty and vulnerability was so poignant- this is definitely a book that will stick with me for a long time.

Patrick Cartelli

An absolute must read. Take a day and read it straight through.

Midori Kobayashi

Like Toni Morrison very rightly said, this should be a MUST READ for every school. 
One of the most real accounts of how life is so different for white and black teenagers growing up. The stark contrast between their upbringing, their notion of a "good" childhood/teenage and their parent's beliefs is something I don't think we ever notice/think about otherwise. 



 But race is the child of racism, not the father. And the process of naming “the people” has never been a matter of genealogy and physiognomy so much as one of hierarchy. Difference in hue and hair is old. But the belief in the preeminence of hue and hair, the notion that these factors can correctly organize a society and that they signify deeper attributes, which are indelible—this is the new idea at the heart of these new people who have been brought up hopelessly, tragically, deceitfully, to believe that they are white.



This book sheds light to some very harsh truths about racism and people's mindset. You need to read this to get an idea about how privileged you are. And try doing better. 



Not being violent enough could cost me my body. Being too violent could cost me my body. We could not get out.



This book is not gonna be an easy read, you as a person of privilege will feel questioned. You will feel uncomfortable and that is exactly the point. To ask uneasy questions to talk about things people have been taken for granted and breaking the racial stereotypes. This is a book that will make you question your every move, belief, ideology. And make you think and rethink them for good.



The problem with the police is not that they are fascist pigs but that our country is ruled by majoritarian pigs.



Each and every line from this book is quotable, is so damn intriguing. Definitely gonna read everything else written by this author. MUST MUST MUST READ. ONE OF THE BEST NON-FICTION BOOKS I've read in forever.

Simao Freitas

Amazing, inspiring, raw, visceral, sad, beautiful. Couldn’t stop reading it.

Kristen Claiborn

Like many others in 2020, I have sought out books by African American authors, especially ones about their experiences. This one was particularly poignant because it was written as a "letter" to his son. This book is heart-wrenching and eye-opening; a must-read for anybody.

Jeannette Ordas

It's a small book, but no means a slight one. This book powerfully & poetically describes the history and injustice of being born a black male in America. Should be recommended reading for everyone.

Eva Decker

Maddie

Beautifully written. Compelling arguments. Captivating descriptions.

Emily Perkovich

I usually wait to read a memoir until I have decided I really love the person’s work, if they have other work to read first. I needed something shorter to listen to while I painted a room in my house, and I am so glad I didn’t wait to read this any longer. This should be added to required reading in this country if we want to stop children from being born into racism because of racist parents and systems. The way anti-racism is tackled while simultaneously celebrating black people being allowed to stay black, to not convert to white culture to be accepted, is one of the only times I have seen this done in a way that I think could easily convince people that don’t think they need to be doing anything that both need to happen and that they have to be an active part of it.

Izza

Elda Mengisto

"I have searched for answers in nationalist myth, in classrooms, out on the streets, and on other continents. The question is unanswerable, which is not to say futile. The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, of confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from ghosts and girded me against the sheer terror of disembodiment" (12)

This encapsulates Ta-Nehisi Coates' perspective in "Between the World and Me", a small yet substantive book in which he condenses the history of racism in the United States through a letter to his son. Emphasizing "the body" as the beginning and the end of it, Coates goes through his childhood in Baltimore, his university days in Howard and the struggle to find a job, and his romances from time to time. Despite this, it focuses on how Black people are sacrificed in the pursuit of the "Dream"--one which is more sinister than what U.S. classes promote.

One thing which stands out for me was how eloquent Coates is as writer. For example, with one of his girlfriends, he tells about how "I grew up between love and fear. There was no room for softness. But this girl with the long dreads revealed something else--that love could be soft and understanding; that, soft or hard, love was an act of heroism" (61) However, within these sentences, he also deals with how Black grandparents and parents love their children--roughly, because if the child didn't know punishment earlier, the American system would come and take his body away. He also describes the Mecca, a collective of Black excellence, as "a machine, crafted to capture and concentrate the dark energy of all African peoples and inject it directly into the student body" (40). It takes you into the world Coates grows up in, along with giving you hints of his point of view.

Throughout the book, Coates focuses on the insidious racism which impedes on American society to pursue the Dream, which "smells like peppermint but tastes like strawberry shortcake. And for so long I have wanted to escape into the Dream...but this has never been an option because the Dream rests on our backs" (11). He shows this through growing up in Baltimore, facing the myriad of social issues which he argues is baked into the American pie. He tells about this through the life and eventual murder of Prince Jones, a Howard University student; which he goes up to his family near the end.

Using the Dream against itself is a curious perspective. "It does not matter that the 'intensions' of individual educators were noble. Forget about intentions...Our world is physical" (33), he tells his son, before noting how while most Americans wouldn't willingly subjugate others, but "mistakes were made. Bodies were broken. People were enslaved. We meant well. We tried our best. 'Good intention' is a hall pass through history, a sleeping pill that ensures the Dream" (33). Considering his take on education, it jars with my experience as a child of immigrants who emphasized it to make my way in the world, first and foremost. I was intrigued by the scene in which Coates eats up all the knowledge of the Black experience in the United States and the world, but never found myself doing the same. Multiple times, Coates argues if the population either realizes what's going on or stops making these sacrifices, then they would all wake up from the Dream and be forced to reckon with what they have created. And then I kept asking myself, "what would happen then? Outright revolt? Some form of reparations? Or the end of the American project as we know it?"

For the answers of these questions, you'll have to look elsewhere on that part. Coates doesn't argue for an arc for justice that would inevitably lead the country the right way, "...because they must ultimately stop themselves. And still I urge you to struggle. Struggle for the memory of your ancestors. Struggle for wisdom. Struggle for the warmth of The Mecca...but do not struggle for the dreamers." (151). Surely, he tells his son to revel in the world in all its horrors and beauties, like the Paris he took which he reveled in the experience while reminding his son he got his name because of a man who resisted French imperialism. 

What's sad about "Between the World and Me" isn't this ambiguity about how to solve systemic racism, but how it's still pertinent years later after another wave of police brutality and the protests that followed. We also saw a series of symbolic erasure in terms of whom the United States celebrates in its history, but there's clearly more to do. As for the book itself, it's melancholic and even a bit despairing, but Coates describes how he sees the world very well. (8.5/10)

Hailed by Toni Morrison as "required reading," a bold and personal literary exploration of America's racial history by "the single best writer on the subject of race in the United States" (The New York Observer)#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER | NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER | PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST | NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST | NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review O: The Oprah Magazine The Washington Post People Entertainment Weekly Vogue Los Angeles Times San Francisco Chronicle Chicago Tribune New York.

Aaliyah Jenkins

I can see why this book has such impressive ratings—It's really good. Ta-Nehisi Coates uses language in such a precise and economical way that he manages to say more in 152 pages than a less inspired writer could in 400+ pages. 

And beyond style, the content is relevant and important. My favorite thing about reading is those moments when a writer captures a feeling I've never had the language to communicate. I don't know Coates from Adam but in those moments (of which there are many in Between the World and Me) his prose says to me, "I know you." What a gift.

linda

Between the World and Me is an emotional tour de force. Ta-Nehisi Coates’s writing is humanizing and powerful. His language is one of love, a language transcends all human means of expression, with a punch packed into every word. Written as a letter to his son, Samori, the book explains the disembodiment of African-Americans, the prevalent racism that threatens their day-to-day safety, and the toxic Dream of a post-racial society. Part memoir, part ethnography, and part social commentary, this book serves as a frank portrayal of our brutal racial reality - a country that was built upon the subjugation of African-Americans and continues to enslave millions more through intergenerational poverty and violence. Coates interweaves storytelling with advice for his son; the strong paternal love with which his writing is tinged, his pervasive fear and concern for Samori, is what makes the story so heartbreaking. 

This book does not sugarcoat. It is not optimistic. It fails to present a hopeful vision for the world. Coates’s writing
reminded me of the same anger I felt when white people insist to me “racism does not exist,” and that by speaking about this “non-existent” racism and the discrimination I may face, I am imposing racist attitudes upon myself. Coates embraces this “breach between the world and [him],” and provides the reader with a consciousness of their troubled society. In his book, Coates talks about how racism is often written off as a natural phenomenon, so deeply engrained into our social fabric that it is inalterable. He also discusses his first-hand experience with gun violence, from his upbringing in West Baltimore to losing a college classmate to a police officer who was ultimately charged with nothing. Coates argues that America’s criminal justice policy is a reflection of the country in “all of its will and fear,” and a consequence of majoritarian rule. 

As a woman of color and an intersectional feminist, it was interesting to explore the issues outlined in this book. I will end with one of my favorite quotes from the book, a response to when Saul Bellow’s question, “Who is the Tolstoy of the Zulus?” Tolstoy is the Tolstoy of the Zulus, Coates asserts. There is no need for another.

Dana Kraft

I found the writing to be heartfelt and personal, which kept me reading. Since the book is supposed to be a letter to his son, I hoped that through his family he would find a way to be more hopeful or optimistic or inspiring about life in general despite the obvious issues that our society still faces. On that front, I was disappointed.

Queena Li

Yes, yes, and yes to everything that has already been written about this book. Required reading for all. Would not recommend Googling the internet's opinion on this one (lest you're feeling a little too proud of humanity today and would like some damning evidence to the contrary).

Between the World and Me

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