Between The World and Me is structured as a letter from a father to his son, that analyzes the Black American history and how it reflects upon the current world. He powerfully pens the experiences of how it is to be a Black person in this world – a person whose ancestors went through the horrors of slavery and segregation and who themselves are going through the horrors of being arrested, locked up, hurt, and murdered for trivial matters. Coates provides a deep understanding of how the idea of the race came to be and how it has damaged generations of Black people.

How did it make me feel?

These past few months, I have consciously chosen to read Black stories. This has led me to be more aware of Black history, movements, authors, and voices. One significant realization that I’ve had during this time is that I KNOW NOTHING.

I still know nothing. However, the impact these stories have had on me is something I could not have put into words until now. Coates puts it perfectly when he says the injustice, the racial discrimination, the history of slavery, the killings are not just “an indefinable mass of flesh”. It is individual. It is not something that’s happening far away, in some other world that you and I are exempt from. It’s here and it’s real. 

I have a long way to go. I have much more to read. What I’ve read and known is not even a scratch on the surface. But I am so grateful for what I’ve learned and will continue to learn as I go. Between The World and Me opened my mind and I would highly recommend it. This is one book that everyone needs to read. 

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Have you read it? Let me know your thoughts!