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Between the World and Me p.26-50

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 black people who contributed important works and inventions to society, I was stunned by how few of the names I recognized. Because of my education in predominately white schools, I have been oblivious to the tremendous stories and achievements of many groups of people. 

Coates also expressed his struggles with viewing himself confidently and taking pride in his race and culture. When he discovered Malcolm X, he was struck by Malcolm's confidence and authenticity as a black man. Although I have insecurities about certain aspects of my appearance and personality, I have never felt insecure about my race. Any instance of diminished confidence has never been caused by the color of my skin. This is a stark contrast to Coates' experience.

Coates struggle with education and his overall confidence showed how diminishing the education of black history in American schools and society harms the overall self esteem of minorities in this country. 

Comments

  1. Shayna EppingaSeptember 26, 2019 at 10:37 AM

    I liked how you pointed out how little we talk about influential black leaders in our schooling. Aside from a few, there was very little taught about these leaders, even though they were an important part of the history of our country. I think it is important for schools to teach more about these leaders and events, because it can show minorities that things that happened to their race are also important to our country as a whole.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Karsen KrierSeptember 29, 2019 at 7:46 PM

    I really enjoyed your last paragraph where you talked about how Coates struggled with education and you summed up that society has harmed the overall self-esteem in minorities. I think that this is very important to highlight this because I think that this is still around today even. I also liked how you intend that you were brought up in an all-white school and I was to. I can agree with you that I have never noticed it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tara BoerOctober 7, 2019 at 10:25 AM

    Yes, I'm thankful too that he brought up his interest in reading and how that contributed to developing his sense of perspective and even allowed him to take a step back and criticize how the structures in society have contributed to the inequalities experienced by his race.

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