Analysis Of Ta-Nehisi Coates Between The World And Me

In Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book Between the World and Me, Coates wrote a 176 page long letter to his 14 years old son to explain what the African American society were going through at the time being. In the book, Coates used himself as an example to demonstrate the unjust treatment that had been cast upon him and many other African Americans. Readers can sense a feeling of pessimism towards African American’s future throughout the entire book although he did not pointed it out directly.
At the beginning of the book, Coates wrote about how growing up in a community that was hostile against African Americans was like. “The streets transform every ordinary day into a series of trick questions, and every incorrect answer risks a beat-down, a shooting, or a pregnancy. No one survives unscathed. And yet the heat that springs from the constant danger, from a lifestyle of near-death experience, is thrilling.” Coates was always “on guard” as a kid, for he feared that if he spoke or even have the slightest chance of expressing the feeling of dissatisfaction both the streets and the police will seek trouble. There were too many examples at that time that showed Coates physical harm

were threatened to him in everyday life.
Next, Coates compared his experience living in the African American community to the suburban white community.

In his opinion, life in the white community is like a dream, since there were no discrimination, no oppression, no threats for violence etc. He expressed the idea that it was impossible for the white people to give up this dream and they would do whatever necessary to defend it. “The problem with the police is not that they are fascist pigs but that our country is ruled by majoritarian pigs.” Coates believed that the root to all the unfortunate events were because of the country’s leadership. America had benefitted from slavery and many other policies that were discriminating against African Americans, yet the leaders failed to recognise the contributions they had made for this

country.
Towards the end of the book, Coates talks of a college friend Prince Carmen Jones Jr. who was shot by a white police officer. Prince’s mother, Mabel Jones, was a sharecropper who worked hard her entire life to provide for children. It was because of her, her children were able to live comfortable lives, go to private schools, and tour Europe during the summer time. Yet, despite all the effort she put into her son, her son was brutally murdered by a white police men who had previous records of violence towards the African American community. Coates used Jones as an example that showed how race related tragedies affect the African Americans.
In conclusion, Coates disagrees with a lot people who held the belief that the African Americans and the white people can cooperate together and coexist. He believed that if the leaders of this country were not willing to do something historically significant then white supremacy will never change.