Outstanding Exposition on the Criminality of Whiteness

I received a powerful lesson on the history of whiteness and racism in America in this reading. Coates is an amazing writer and has researched well this country's original sin of slavery. He nearly tied so much of what slavery produced to the affection black people labor against everyday. His writing is clear, logical, and very thought provoking. I highly recommend it but if you do decide to embark on this journey, bring a notepad!!! There is so much to learn from Mr. Coates in these pages.

Out of the many words Coates used to describe the eight years of Obama’s presidency, I cannot come up with one to describe the profound gravity of the analysis of this book. It took me over a year to read it because this book is a text of pure study. I so appreciate how Coates defines each year of Obama’s presidency and aligns it with highlighted articles from his time and work for The Atlantic. On page 337, Coates says, “I still want Obama to be right. I still would like to fold myself into the dream. This will not be possible.” Coates takes Obama’s optimism (written like Voltaire) as the yen to Trump’s yang...the light before the darkness.

I’m left wondering about the true “friendship” that may be between Coates and Obama. I felt Coates urge you want to shake Obama during trying moments in American history to say, “WAKE UP BLACK MAN!!” “The Case for Reparations,” “Fear of a Black President,” “...Mass Incarceration” are by far my favorite articles here. I could go on...but just like Coates other works, I will be reading this in the future, especially as we experience presidents to come....

I reread Between the World and Me, and wanted more. This is much more in depth, and absolutely pulls no punches. I don't think I knew quite what I was getting into. it made me mad, sad, frustrated ... lots of things, but mostly aware. I was unusually compelled to take notes as I read, so if you wish, you can read my notes on his notes and essays:

I remember when Cosby made those wild speeches. I remember feeling that he was off-base. White America should be held accountable for perpetuating racial inequality. On the other hand, we are naive if we think they'll rectify it. Those of us, black or white, who recognize it have to mobilize. That's the only way it will change, and it won't be easy. Does Cosby inadvertently nullify his own argument? His celebrity millionaire status has protected him from serious rape charges - lots of them! Wouldn't these rapes "embarrass his mother" as he put it? Yet he blames lower & lower-mid economic black people for racial disparity? I'm bothered by the notion that "we" accept all races and cultures... if they assimilate. That's not acceptance.

On "boxing himself out" by writing on race:
"The notion that writing about race, which is to say, the force of white supremacy, is marginal and provincial is itself parcel to white supremacy, premised on the notion that the foundational crimes of this country are mostly irrelevant to its existence."

"Racism is not merely a simplistic hatred. It is, more often, broad sympathy toward some and broad scepticism toward others."

If you read The Case for Reparations and are unaffected, get a CAT scan to make sure you have a heart and soul.

"Perhaps after a serious discussion and debate - the kind that HR 40 proposes - we may find that the country can never fully repay African Americans. But we stand to discover much about ourselves in such a discussion - and that is perhaps what scares us."

"When the homophobe says that same-sex marriage will alter the definition of marriage, he is still a homophobe but he is not a liar. The right of exclusion is part of his definition of an institution that is vital for him and gives his life meaning."

In The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration:
"Describing the Nixon campaign's strategy for assembling enough votes to win the 1972 election, Nixon's aide John Ehrlichman later wrote, "We'll go after the racists... That subliminal appeal to the antiblack voter was always in Nixon's statements and speeches on schools and housing."

Chilling

"Every trump voter is most certainly not a white supremacist, just as every white person in the Jim Crow south was not a white supremacist. But every trump voter felt it acceptable to hand the fate of the country over to one."

Despite all that Coates wrote, I miss Obama. Whatever his terms as our first black president meant for our progress against racism, I would rather fight that fight with him at the helm instead of our present shit show.

An important read for white people wanting to be a better ally in the fight against racism.

A series of essays written for The Atlantic, with new introductions and autobiographical additions from Coates. As with everything else he writes, they're all a must read.

Above all, it must be said that essay #6 "The Case for Reparations," is itself a five-star with an exclamation point. Coates near the end of this book agrees that it was his best writing. Interview and essay. Fantastic piece. I couldn't get through a paragraph without stopping to share aloud what I had just learned.

Then read #8 "My President Was Black," and then #2 "American Girl" about Michelle. These three essays stand out to me in this order after finishing this gauntlet of a book over three weeks.

4.5

Everyone should read it, and if it makes you angry because you don't think it could possibly be true... Read it again... And ask why you're so angry.