October 14, 2015

Between the World and Me


"I write you in your fifteenth year. I am writing you because this was the year you saw Eric Garner choked to death for selling cigarettes; because you know now that Renisha McBride was shot for seeking help, that John Crawford was shot down for browsing in a department store. And you have seen men in uniform drive by and murder Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old child whom they were oath-bound to protect. And you have seen men in the same uniforms pummel Marlene Pinnock, someone's grandmother, on the side of a road. And you know now, if you did not before, that the police departments of your country have been endowed with the authority to destroy your body. It does not matter if the destruction is the result of an unfortunate overreaction." ~ pg. 10

Between the World and Me is easy to explain but hard to review. It is the most sincere realistic concerns of a black father to his 15-year-old son. In the form of a letter to his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes about the history of our country and its current crisis. In a "keeping it real" type of way, he gives his son advice on how to live within a black body. This personal narrative is emotional as it takes readers through history, current events and a future from a black male's perspective.

I can offer no other review than to simply recommend reading Between the World and Me. In fact, it should be required reading for adolescents regardless of race, if only to provide insight into a mind (un)like your own. Watch the interview below first of national correspondent Ta-Nehisi Coates discussing his book and race in America.


Title: Between the World and Me
Author: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Published: July 2015
Pages: 98
Edition: eBook
Challenge: New Author; Diversity on the Shelf
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♡

 

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