Between the World and Me is a 2015 nonfiction book written by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It is written as a letter to the author's teenage son about the feelings, symbolism, and realities associated with being Black in the United States. Coates recapitulates American history and explains to his son the "racist violence that has been woven into American culture." Coates draws from an abridged, autobiographical account of his youth in Baltimore, detailing the ways in which institutions like the school, the police, and even "the streets" discipline, endanger, and threaten to disembody black men and women. The work takes structural and thematic inspiration from James Baldwin's 1963 epistolary book The Fire Next Time. Unlike Baldwin, Coates sees white supremacy as an indestructible force, one that Black Americans will never evade or erase, but will always struggle against.
The novelist Toni Morrison wrote …
Between the World and Me is a 2015 nonfiction book written by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It is written as a letter to the author's teenage son about the feelings, symbolism, and realities associated with being Black in the United States. Coates recapitulates American history and explains to his son the "racist violence that has been woven into American culture." Coates draws from an abridged, autobiographical account of his youth in Baltimore, detailing the ways in which institutions like the school, the police, and even "the streets" discipline, endanger, and threaten to disembody black men and women. The work takes structural and thematic inspiration from James Baldwin's 1963 epistolary book The Fire Next Time. Unlike Baldwin, Coates sees white supremacy as an indestructible force, one that Black Americans will never evade or erase, but will always struggle against.
The novelist Toni Morrison wrote that Coates filled an intellectual gap in succession to James Baldwin. Editors of The New York Times and The New Yorker described the book as exceptional. The book won the 2015 National Book Award for Nonfiction and was a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.
I agree with Toni Morrison that "this is required reading". Whether or not Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote this precisely for his son vs. His son and others, the book was short yet profound. Personal, brutally honest, compelling, and very powerful. Highly recommended.
I agree with Toni Morrison that "this is required reading". Whether or not Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote this precisely for his son vs. His son and others, the book was short yet profound. Personal, brutally honest, compelling, and very powerful. Highly recommended.
"Race is the child of racism, not the father." - Ta-Nehisi Coates, from Between the World and Me, which was book #7 in my 2022 journey of reading books that have been challenged or removed from Texas libraries or schools.
The antilibrarians feign concern for reader "DISCOMFORT." But to me, the readers who find most discomfort in Coates or Kendi will be those whose starting-place was that of TAKING COMFORT in (their belief in) their own "whiteness."
"Race is the child of racism, not the father." - Ta-Nehisi Coates, from Between the World and Me, which was book #7 in my 2022 journey of reading books that have been challenged or removed from Texas libraries or schools.
The antilibrarians feign concern for reader "DISCOMFORT." But to me, the readers who find most discomfort in Coates or Kendi will be those whose starting-place was that of TAKING COMFORT in (their belief in) their own "whiteness."
This book punched me in the gut. Repeatedly. "Race is the child of racism, not the father" (p. 7). I'd read a few pages, then set the book aside to rest my mind and let my heart heal. I'd always pick it back up, savoring its eloquence while smarting from its candor. I'd find myself simultaneously marveling and wincing. As I write this in 2020, our cities roil from peaceful protests and rioting. As a country, we grapple with our past, present, and future. Our West coast burns. We fight about masks, about the seriousness of COVID-19, about whether black lives or blue lives matter. We shout our viewpoints and unfollow those who view differently. Instead, we should talk less and listen more. Understand our shared humanity, the artificial notion of "race," the reality that our realities aren't universal. Realize that each person is "a particular [person] . . . …
This book punched me in the gut. Repeatedly. "Race is the child of racism, not the father" (p. 7). I'd read a few pages, then set the book aside to rest my mind and let my heart heal. I'd always pick it back up, savoring its eloquence while smarting from its candor. I'd find myself simultaneously marveling and wincing. As I write this in 2020, our cities roil from peaceful protests and rioting. As a country, we grapple with our past, present, and future. Our West coast burns. We fight about masks, about the seriousness of COVID-19, about whether black lives or blue lives matter. We shout our viewpoints and unfollow those who view differently. Instead, we should talk less and listen more. Understand our shared humanity, the artificial notion of "race," the reality that our realities aren't universal. Realize that each person is "a particular [person] . . . whose mind is active as your own, whose range of feeling is as vast as your own" (p. 69). Coates describes a reality that isn't mine, and I listened and learned. As much as it hurt, I'm glad I did.
Between the World and Me is a beautifully penned memoir-letter intended for the author's son, but also profound and meaningful for others, as well. Ta-Nehisi Coates has attempted to communicate what is was like for him to grow up as an African American male in this country during a certain time and how his feelings have been informed by his experiences and his knowledge of history. I found it informative and unforgettable.
I would recommend this to absolutely anyone; it's an important work.
Between the World and Me is a beautifully penned memoir-letter intended for the author's son, but also profound and meaningful for others, as well. Ta-Nehisi Coates has attempted to communicate what is was like for him to grow up as an African American male in this country during a certain time and how his feelings have been informed by his experiences and his knowledge of history. I found it informative and unforgettable.
I would recommend this to absolutely anyone; it's an important work.
Review of 'Between the World and Me' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Beautiful... tragic and kind. Written in poetic prose this letter to the author's 15 year old son is as near perfect to its purpose as I can imagine. This is required reading for everyone.
Beautiful... tragic and kind. Written in poetic prose this letter to the author's 15 year old son is as near perfect to its purpose as I can imagine. This is required reading for everyone.
