Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book, Between the World and Me, exemplifies the alienation of African Americans in the United States. He says, “All of this is common to black people. And all of this is old for black people. No one is held responsible” (9). Coates is emphasizing that this state of being excluded has not changed for his people. With them doing the smallest infractions, they will be punished severely or even killed in the action. The author gives examples of those who have done wrong: Eric Garner was choked to death by the New York City Police Department for selling cigarettes. There is a video of the murder and you can hear Garner say, “I can’t breathe.” Another example is the death of John Crawford III. He was browsing a Walmart in Ohio.
