Between the World and Me Discussion Questions

In Between the World and Me, what value does Ta-Nehisi Coates seem to think is most important in life?

Of all the advice Coates offers his son, Samori, the struggle to become educated, specifically in Black history, stands out as the value the author is most eager to convey. Access to his father’s library at a young age, in a sense, saves Coates from the Baltimore streets. When college life fails to sustain him, the independent study of Black history and literature feeds his curiosity and ultimately leads to a successful career. Underlying this advice throughout the text is a sense that Coates worries about Samori growing up in a different time, one that may seem gentler and may offer more equality. However, for Samori, failing to realize that the Black body is still in danger could mean an early death. For Samori’s generation to not engage in the struggle could mean a loss of what modest progress has been made.

What does Coates mean when he says “race is the child of racism” in Between the World and Me?

Coates means that the concept of race is a false construct, not a fact of nature. It was created solely to gain wealth and power through the belief that one set of people could be inferior because of skin tone and hair color. Equally false is the notion of a “white” race. Coates points out that so-called “white” people of the past used to classify themselves differently, based on religion or where their ancestors immigrated from to the United States. Race, then, is a matter of organizing people into hierarchies that are illusions. If people were not racist to begin with, they wouldn’t have created hierarchies based on skin color.

What is the significance of the title of Between the World and Me?

The book’s title comes from Richard Wright’s poem of the same name. It refers to a “breach,” a “barrier,” that the author perceives between himself and the rest of the world. This gap is based on a false construct of race, but it has real consequences. It drives Coates’ quest to discover why there are two different realities based on skin color. It is also a “cosmic injustice” that his wife, Kenyatta Matthews, understands as a Black woman. It is the “thing” in the woods from Wright’s poem, the burned body of a Black man who has been lynched. This “thing”—the long history of violence against Black bodies—creates the most significant disconnect between the author and the world. Coates’ sole purpose is to make sure that his son, Samori, understands this “thing” and why his father must pick a fight with the world.

What is the significance for Ta-Nehisi Coates of the life and death of Prince Jones in Between the World and Me?

For Coates, Prince Jones signifies a young Black man who flourished as an achiever and was endowed with kindness and generosity. His senseless death at the hands of the police shows that not even elite Black people are beyond the reach of racist cruelty and brute force. Prince is an example of a senseless killing of a Black man that counters the dominant media narrative that only Black men of low character with sordid pasts are killed by police.

How would you describe the author’s overall tone or attitude in Between the World and Me?

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ blunt emphasis on protection and security of the body gives the book an authoritative tone. He traces the importance of education and struggle in his own life and stresses the need for struggle in his advice for Samori. At the same time, Coates’ great affection for his son and his concern for protecting Samori introduce notes of tenderness. The book’s overall tone might be described as clear-eyed, urgent and unflinching.