TOW #8 - Between the World and Me

Ta-Nehisi Coates writes Between the World and Me as a letter to his son, in light of the recent news that no charges would be brought up against the police officer who killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. His book is for all Americans, so they can see what it’s like to be black in America, specifically through Coates’s eyes. He shares personal stories, recounting on what he has learned throughout his life. His title Between the World and Me indicates that his message is a personal one, and is aimed towards everyone. When he mentions his childhood in Baltimore he writes, “Not being violent enough could cost me my body. Being too violent could cost me my body.” Coates had to fend for himself in his hometown while also keeping himself out of trouble. He depicts the harsh reality and helps the reader understand as to how merely trying to live can feel unfair, especially for a child. With accounts from his childhood, Coates also shares realizations that he has come to as an adult. “Black people love their children with a kind of obsession,” he writes. “You are all we have, and you come to us endangered. I think we would like to kill you ourselves before seeing you killed by the streets that America made.” Coates gives his son and America the raw feelings a parent has when they hear of the horror stories happening around the country. No parent wants their child to prematurely lose their life. His statement allows Americans to understand the fear that is put into Black parents’ hearts when their child wants to go to the movies or their school football game. It can happen anywhere and to anyone. If the audience accepts Coates’s invitation to try on his shoes they’ll be able to have a better idea of what it’s like to be black in America.