Between the World and Me

In this reading, Coates reflects on his experience with education in the United States. As a student, Coates found it difficult to thrive in a strict school system. Although passionate about reading and writing, Coates felt restricted and thought school was not representative of the life he lived on the streets. When Coates discovered Malcolm X and other prominent black figures throughout history during his time at Howard University, he began to discover the uncovered history of his people. Through reading about the history of his race, he started to find confidence and beauty in himself.  Coates' experiences with education are much different than my own. Aside from black history month, the majority of my education has focused on the history and achievements of white people. After reading Coates memoir, it became apparent to me that how we are taught in the United States white-washes history and minimizes the experiences of minorities. When Coates listed a variety of names of bl

In Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes a letter to his son, recollecting his experiences growing up as a black man in the United States. The stories he tells are vivid descriptions of his exposure to fear, violence, anger, and abuse. As I read the first part of his letter, I could not help but compare his life to my own. Coates' life was encompassed by fear: fear of the police, fear of violence at school and in his community, and fear of death. Coates writes, "To be Black in the Baltimore of my youth was to be naked before the elements of the world, before all the guns, fists, knives, crack, rape, and disease ... The nakedness was the intended result of policy, the predictable upshot of people forced for centuries to live in fear." The world Coates struggled through during his youth is a drastic contrast from my upbringing. I was born white and was raised in a middle class, almost completely white community. Fear has been an infinitesimal part of my life.