Racism Exposed In Coates's Between The World And Me

The renown pianist and conductor, Timothy Long, once claimed, “Fear and ignorance are the key routes to racism.” Essentially, Long suggested that it is the nefarious forces of fear and ignorance that reinforce the systems of racial oppression in society. In the contemporary book, Between The World And Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates aims to expose the racial injustice and cultural degrading of the “black body” to his fifteen year old son. In this book, Coates corroborates Long’s claim as he illustrates that the fear within blacks, and the ignorance of the injustice they face, leads to violence within oppressed black communities and increase of racism in America. Coates employs structure and violent imagery to illustrate that racism has forced blacks

Coates conveys that “[he] saw it in their loud laughter…[he]saw it in their brutal language…”(15). Here, “it” refers to the insecurities or inferiority the black children feel, which provokes them to act aggressive with “loud laughter” and “brutal laughter”. By employing this anaphora, Coates emphasizes the growing fear that black teenagers face that antagonizes them to react violently. Furthermore, Coates demonstrates that “[he] knew that there was a ritual to a street fight...attested to all the vulnerability of the black teenage body” (15). The fact that the “street fight” is “ritual” or mundane highlights that violence is a tradition that black teenagers are adopting. Thus, Coates employs violent imagery to prove that the result of this prevailing fear that builds up in black communities due to racism. Additionally, Coates articulates that “[he] would watch them after school” as “squared off like boxers” and “leaped at each other” (15). Here, Coates illustrates that the black teenagers showcase the violence in the black community “after school” as they “squared off like boxers” as to resolve conflicts. Through this violent imagery, Coates portrays how the racial injustice in black communities influences the black teeneagers

Coates demonstrates that “[his]my father was so very afraid. I felt it in the sting of his black leather belt… he beat [him]me as if someone might steal [him]me away” (15). Coates’ father’s fear forces him to lash out violently and thus to protect him from the white oppressors or the violent black community who may “steal [him] away”. Thus, through the personal anecdote of his childhood with imagery of violence, Coates illustrates that black parents are violent towards their children because they are “afraid” of the racial vulnerability they face in society. Additionally Coates articulates that “[he] would hear it in [his]my Dad’s voice...Either I can beat him, or the police”(16). This shows that black parents feel responsible for shaping their children in a way exemplary of discipline and obedience to avoid being brutally taught these principles by the racist “police”. By employing this dialogue, Coates highlights the fact that black parents are not necessarily vitriolic towards their children but rather they seek to protect them from the racially violent society that surrounds them. Moreover, Coates expresses to his son that “[he]I feels fear most acutely whenever [he] you leave me” (14). The personal pronoun “I” highlights that like many other black parents he also personally feels the