Between the World and Me, which is
a long tell-all letter to the author's son, is an extremely powerful
and delicate account of the black experience in the modern United
States. Coates is brutally honest and frames his experiences in the
context of the greater social forces shaping understandings of “race”
in the United States. The affair is personal, as Coates is indeed
writing to his son, but the lessons and experiences which he
courageously shares are accessible and should be considered by all
willing to read with an open mind and empathetic heart.
Coates structures
the struggles of black Americans in extremely in physical terms –
in terms of keeping one's body alive. Coates analyzes how aspects of
American society have been engineered to exclude and dehumanize black
Americans physically, both implicit and explicit. Instead of focusing
on black America as a single entity, Coates approaches each
individual as a unique instance of life makes the atrocities of white
America more difficult to digest emotionally – which is precisely
the point. Coates touches upon the extremely tender nerve of seeing
the loss of an individual for what it is without forcing it into a
bubble: a tragic and deep wound which will never heal completely. By
inspecting the isolated event and emphasizing that each occurrence is
just as devastating, the reality of the big picture is all the more
alarming.
As someone who
could describe their relationship with higher powers as “complicated”
at best, I generally sympathized with Coates' atheistic approach to
evaluating all exchanging in physical terms. However, this does
narrow the accessibility of his work with those that identify with
organized religion. The approach to viewing each atrocity as an
isolated, physical event can be too much at times, and as a reader I
could not but retreat to seeing the big picture in hopes that each
tragedy finds justice through a liberated future. That is not to say
that Coates does not find hope – his hope is kept local, like his
experiences. Coates instead finds hope and self-affirmation in
community and in his son.
As a white male who
grew up in the privileged, ignorant backwater of America, I have
strove as an adult to expand my understanding and empathy. Each day
is a journey and lesson, but Coates' work has challenged and engaged
me in such a way that reading his work feels like a leap forward.
Although each individual will find their own disagreements with
Coates' perspective and analysis, the nature of this work as a
personal letter is brave and unapologetic. I highly recommend this
work to anyone and everyone.
100/100
+ well written and distinct writing style
+ powerful and emotional
+ timeless and personal
- personal nature and Coates' perspective will appeal to some more than others
+ well written and distinct writing style
+ powerful and emotional
+ timeless and personal
- personal nature and Coates' perspective will appeal to some more than others