Analysis Of 'The Beautiful Struggle' By Ta-Nehisi Coatess

The Black experience varies upon everyone within the Black Community. Your lifestyle, economic status, and your community’s culture are some of the characteristics that can affect your Black experience. The memoir, The Beautiful Struggle, written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, portrays a Black man living in a drug and violent area and beating all the stereotypes put in place by outsiders. Coates beats the stereotype of a typical Black man raised in a crime inflicted area falling into the traps of his neighborhood by attending college and becoming successful in his work. Coates’ Black experience was affected by his education, environment, and his mentality leading Coates to become the man he is today.
Coates mentality affected the formation of his Black …show more content…
Coates was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland and which at that time was falling helplessly to the crack epidemic. Drugs in a community can destroy its people’s culture leaving them damaged and may also lead to violence. A mixture of drugs and violence can scar anyone leading them to fall victim to the same trap of substance abuse or become a dealer like Coates older brother Bill did at Howard University. Coates was also surrounded around the badge value. According to “Illuminating the Black Experience” in the Miller and Kemp’s What’s Black About it?, the badge value is when a African American places a greater emphasis on brand name item and use that to communicate social and economic achievements. Throughout every Black community, the badge value is present, and relating to Coates his brother Bill was victim to it. Bill valued name brands shoes such as Adidas that were expensive over another shoe that was equal or better quality and less expensive. Bill also brought a gold chain that he believed was real to impress others in the community and to the others of his financial status. Coates did not fully indulge into the badge value like others around him did. Coates was different his community, the guy who didn’t do drugs and didn’t wear flashy clothes to impress. Coates impressed others with his knowledge and determination to do better for himself. Being able to persevere through his …show more content…
Coates’ parents enforced the importance of higher education within their household. Coates’ father made sure that his children were well versed on great people within their African American culture and the importance of being conscious. Coates’ supported his culture by attending a Historically Black Institution, Howard University or the “Mecca”. The Black community viewed Howard so highly because they saw it as a place where everyone there was conscious and focused highly on their education. Within chapter four of What’s Black About It? the authors, Pepper Miller and Herb Kemp, discuss an African American agency, Spike DDB, helping State Farm Insurance market to African American savers. Their market scheme focused on the importance saving money so that Black youth can attend college. Spike DDB made a print campaign that showed a Black boy standing in front of a Morehouse College banner wearing an oversized sweatshirt from Morehouse. The headline read, “The only thing that will grow up faster is the cost of a college education.” For most African Americans education is the only option to becoming successful and improving their reputation among other Americans. Other Americans are born into privilege and family success and all they have to do is live that legacy but most African Americans do not have this. We have to work hard to become successful, nothing is given to us you have to go out and get it yourself and