Ta Nehisi Coates
Alexander, Michelle. "Ta-Nehisi Coates’s ‘Between the World and Me’." The New York Times. 11111The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Dec. 2016. 11111.
According to Michelle Alexander’s article, “Ta-Nehisi Coates’s ‘Between the World and Me’,” Coates’s letter to his son repeatedly emphasizes the permanence of racial injustice in America; the foolishness of believing that one person can make a change, and the dangers of believing in the American Dream. Alexander cites Coates’s statements in Between the World and me, “Historians conjured the Dream..Hollywood fortified the Dream. The Dream was gilded by novels and adventure stories...Here is what I would like for you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black …show more content…
He shows that the media has the power to change the way people define racism and other social issues. For example in the shooting of African American youth, they can portray them as single individual events or events as part of an ongoing discriminatory practice of African-American men being 21 times more likely than their white counterparts to be shot dead by the police. The author cites Coates’s quote, “Journalism privileges what’s happening now over the long reasons for things happening,” giving greater insight into Coates’s initiative to inform people of the entire story, impact, and context of the historical injustice against African Americans. The author additionally questions Coates’s decreasing optimism as he releases more research. He quotes Coates’s skepticism of change, “How big-hearted can democracy be? It points to a very ugly answer: maybe not that big-hearted at all.” This information is very helpful to understand Coates’s view on change in other writings of his like Between the World and …show more content…
Coates states, “Prince Jones had made it through and still they had taken him” (Coates 91). He states “made it” to imply that he had steered safe and followed the path of education and ambition, but yet still fell victim to racism and injustice. He marks it as an example to emphasize that even taking a “correct” or sheltered path does not guarantee safety or fair treatment from the rest of society. This quote is important in terms of understanding Coates’s point that if African Americans educate or change themselves, nothing much will happen until the rest of society accepts the
Alexander, Michelle. "Ta-Nehisi Coates’s ‘Between the World and Me’." The New York Times. 11111The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Dec. 2016. 11111.
According to Michelle Alexander’s article, “Ta-Nehisi Coates’s ‘Between the World and Me’,” Coates’s letter to his son repeatedly emphasizes the permanence of racial injustice in America; the foolishness of believing that one person can make a change, and the dangers of believing in the American Dream. Alexander cites Coates’s statements in Between the World and me, “Historians conjured the Dream..Hollywood fortified the Dream. The Dream was gilded by novels and adventure stories...Here is what I would like for you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black …show more content…
He shows that the media has the power to change the way people define racism and other social issues. For example in the shooting of African American youth, they can portray them as single individual events or events as part of an ongoing discriminatory practice of African-American men being 21 times more likely than their white counterparts to be shot dead by the police. The author cites Coates’s quote, “Journalism privileges what’s happening now over the long reasons for things happening,” giving greater insight into Coates’s initiative to inform people of the entire story, impact, and context of the historical injustice against African Americans. The author additionally questions Coates’s decreasing optimism as he releases more research. He quotes Coates’s skepticism of change, “How big-hearted can democracy be? It points to a very ugly answer: maybe not that big-hearted at all.” This information is very helpful to understand Coates’s view on change in other writings of his like Between the World and …show more content…
Coates states, “Prince Jones had made it through and still they had taken him” (Coates 91). He states “made it” to imply that he had steered safe and followed the path of education and ambition, but yet still fell victim to racism and injustice. He marks it as an example to emphasize that even taking a “correct” or sheltered path does not guarantee safety or fair treatment from the rest of society. This quote is important in terms of understanding Coates’s point that if African Americans educate or change themselves, nothing much will happen until the rest of society accepts the