The Harsh Realities of Being Black in America: Analyzing Between the World and Me

Abstract

Non-Fiction Essay Analysis: Between the World and Me Introduction Racial discrimination is a controversial topic within America that many scholars try to analyze. The effect of being black is well argued throughout Between the World and Me, non-fiction by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The feelings, symbolism and realities associated with being an African American define the strong basis of the broad topic of racism within the story. Writing directly to Samori, a fifteen-year-old son, Coates diverts the text from a traditional narrative setup to a real-life experience of personal thoughts and feelings about being a black living in a white race-dominated nation. Unfortunately, as a black teen Samori, Coate's narration forces the boy to understand early enough that America is a hostile place for people of color. Summoned to speak to white audiences about his views on racism and American history, Coates feels challenged as he believes that Americans assign racism to race "inherent feature given to Americans by nature (Pg 79)" thus destroying and humiliating themselves. Coates remembers Prince Jone's funeral and related it to Americans belief in race and racism, citing that "I believed, and still do, that our bodies are ourselves, that my soul is the voltage conducted through neurons and nerves and my spirit is my flesh". For this reason, Coates argues that racism comes before race; thus, deciding who counts as a person depends on individual Americans' beliefs on how these physical and gene features define a group’s hierarchy within the society. In an attempt to offer insights on realities that symbolize the dangers of being black in America, Coates reminds the target audience that most Americans ignore Abraham Lincoln's declaration of the United States as a government of the people by excluding blacks from the sum. Americans embrace the tendency to embrace...