Between the World and Me

Note: As of this review, I will no longer be rating the books with my original star system. Books, like much else in life, are complex creations that I feel, more and more, deserve a real assessment and my review itself is reflective of what I think of the book.

Genre: Fiction

This is not a story, but a letter Coates writes to his son about what it means to be black and living in America. He writes, “How do I live free in this black body? It is a profound question because America understands itself as God’s handiwork but the black body is the clearest evidence that America is the work of men”. This is the jumping off point for the book and what is so very different than other writings about racism in America. Coates emphasizes that, in today’s world, black men and women are physically unsafe. Coates describes his life as a young boy growing up in Baltimore, his experiences at Howard University, some historical references and some of today’s head-line stories. To say that I was moved by this piece is an understatement. It is profound, poetic, beautiful, unapologetic and smart.

The most important thing I take away from this book, is this: my world, and the world of my children, is the world of possibility. The possibility that kindness exists out there. I would never say to my children, although it could very well be true, that someone wouldn’t want to be their friend because they are Jewish. But that’s because my kids don’t wear their religion on their bodies. They choose when and where they share it, which, thankfully, is all the time because we live in a community that embraces people of all kinds. But, here’s the thing, Coates and his child, who wear their race on their skin don’t have that option. This means that the possibility for un-kindess because of their race is always out there. And that un-kindness can be so much more than not wanting to be friends. It can mean getting murdered, tortured or assaulted because of the color of their skin. Coates doesn’t have the luxury of telling his son that, yes, some people are bad, but goodness exists out there. No. What he is saying to his son, is that in order to be safe, to be in control of his body, he has to know that the world is a bad and scary place. That is his reality! I don’t know about you, but the idea of being so afraid for your child’s life is debilitating. What is this life about if not being open and willing to see the good in it? But this is Coates’ reality and likely, the reality for other black men and women living in the US.

Please read this book. It’ll open the proverbial doors to the kind of understanding that won’t fix anything, but can at least help you see what it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes.