But, behind this education, which one could find at any school, the author soon discovered The Mecca, i.e., the university’s ethos and ideology. Malcolm’s ideas, such as his belief that blacks should retaliate, eye-for-an-eye, against a white racist society, set Coates on the path toward his re-education, and served as an antidote to the white education system.Ĭollege, too, offered Coates a substantial view into the way the world really works.Ĭoates attended Howard University, a private liberal arts university focused on getting its students into law school. Malcolm X, the black civil rights and human rights activist, didn’t sugarcoat the truth or advocate a platform amenable to the agendas offered by the white system. Reading Malcolm X and listening to his speeches was pivotal for Coates’s development by exposing him to a reality that school did not. However, he did find some truth in the books he read outside of school.
As a writer, he reflects upon the fears he has for himself, the black community and, above all, his son.Įarly on in his life Coates understood that the education he received in school was irrelevant to him. These events weighed heavily on Coates, and the birth of his son gave him newfound cause to tackle these problems. The cop, a known liar, claimed Jones was trying to run him over, and simply returned to work after being absolved of any wrongdoing.Ĭoates understood then that even taking the middle road – keeping your head down and working hard to succeed – wasn’t enough to guarantee your safety, peace or happiness as a black American. cop – the same cop who would go on to gun Jones down outside his fiance’s house. However, one night, while driving to his fiance’s house in Virginia, Jones was followed across state lines by a D.C. By all accounts, Jones’s future was destined to be a happy, middle-class life. No expense was spared when it came to her son, who was a father and engaged to be married. Jones’s mother came from poverty, but she worked hard and “made it” in America. The second experience involved an acquaintance, Prince Jones, whom he met at Howard University, an HBCU, short for historically black colleges and universities. This fleeting moment solidified the notion that, because he was black, he was constantly subject to the threat of spontaneous and unexpected violence directed at him. He said nothing to Coates he simply pulled out a gun from his ski jacket, brandished it, and then put it back.
Across the street, an unknown boy called him over. The first occurred in 1986, when Coates was standing outside a market after school. But a couple experiences stand out as being the most formative. Throughout his life Coates has lived with the typical fears that black people have in the United States. Author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates was born on Septemin Baltimore, Maryland.
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