Between the World and Me

The struggle to have control and possession of his body continues for Coates in this section of Between the World and Me. In his discussion of the various challenges of African-Americans face, Coates highlights police brutality. He shares a harrowing story of his friend's murder by the police. Although his friend had achieved tremendous success in his life, his success did not stop him from being racially profiled and murdered by an officer. Coates explained that he had little regard for the police officer, but had intense outrage toward society that continually perpetuated the fear of black men.  As Coates described he experiences policy brutality, I found myself completely overwhelmed by the harsh reality in which he lived. Coates stated that black people need to work twice as hard, but even then, could still end up dead. The kind of inequality and fear Coates describes is completely foreign to me. I have never feared for my life when I've encountered the police, nor have ...

In this reading from Between the World and Me , Coates continues to search for his identity as a black man in the United States. As he continues to struggle with owning his body, Coates realizes that he himself had taken part in "plundering" the livelihoods of other minority groups. Coates writes, "But perhaps I too had the capacity for plunder, maybe I would taken another human's body to confirm myself in a community. Perhaps I already had. Hate gives identity." Coates finds himself in a situation where his stereotypes and treatment of the LGBT+ community confronts him. As he begins to fall in love with a woman whose identity lies within the LGBT+ community, he understands his previous ignorant and hateful behavior. He states that his hatred "illuminates the dream of being white, of being a man." Coates realization of his own hatred towards a minority group, though he himself identifies as a minority, illuminates the deep complexity of prejudice. Co...