Ta-Nehisi Coates’ epistolary Between the World and Me has become a literary symbol for the Black Lives Matter Movement. Structurally, Between the World and Me is a direct descendant of The Fire Next Time; both texts were written as letters to male heirs and released at pivotal points in their respective Black social movements. Drawing on the literary legacies of the Wright school of naturalism and the Black Arts Movement, Coates’ work occupies a space between the two. However, Between the World and Me promotes a slightly more optimistic outlook than Wright’s school of naturalism, but also offers a more honest view of African American life than Black Arts Movement writers. Additionally, Coates’ work goes beyond simply straddling the ideologies
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Like Wright, Coates is an atheist. However, his lack of religion isn’t a focal point in Between the World and Me and he isn’t critical of Black Americans sense of spirituality. While Wright believed that social structures within the Black community were partially responsible for keeping African Americans oppressed, Coates recognizes that Black churches serve as important institutions and even wonders if he’s missed something, “some cosmic hope, some wisdom beyond my mean physical perception of the world, something beyond the body”. (Coates, 139) Coates’ atheism serves as a frame of reference when discussing his view of life. He writes, that his “understanding of the universe was physical, and its moral arc bent toward chaos then concluded in a box” (Coates, 29). Coates does not appeal to Black Americans, or anyone, to save themselves or their country from this impending doom. He feels that the risk to individual lives is too great. Coates’ atheism requires him to view individual lives is finite, and therefore places a great deal of importance on the present. Likewise, he suggests that Black America’s cultural life may also come to an end. Coates is not convinced that the long arc of history bends towards justice, and feels that the destruction of the Black body may be inevitable. He urges his son Samori not to martyr himself for the cause but to preserve his body and savor the present because his (and Black America’s) moment may be both beautiful and brief (Coates,
Like Wright, Coates is an atheist. However, his lack of religion isn’t a focal point in Between the World and Me and he isn’t critical of Black Americans sense of spirituality. While Wright believed that social structures within the Black community were partially responsible for keeping African Americans oppressed, Coates recognizes that Black churches serve as important institutions and even wonders if he’s missed something, “some cosmic hope, some wisdom beyond my mean physical perception of the world, something beyond the body”. (Coates, 139) Coates’ atheism serves as a frame of reference when discussing his view of life. He writes, that his “understanding of the universe was physical, and its moral arc bent toward chaos then concluded in a box” (Coates, 29). Coates does not appeal to Black Americans, or anyone, to save themselves or their country from this impending doom. He feels that the risk to individual lives is too great. Coates’ atheism requires him to view individual lives is finite, and therefore places a great deal of importance on the present. Likewise, he suggests that Black America’s cultural life may also come to an end. Coates is not convinced that the long arc of history bends towards justice, and feels that the destruction of the Black body may be inevitable. He urges his son Samori not to martyr himself for the cause but to preserve his body and savor the present because his (and Black America’s) moment may be both beautiful and brief (Coates,