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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
Also done with this one, after one and a half month! very educational and thought-provoking, especially the epilogue. For his essay on black incarceration I recommend The 13th on netflix as more information material.
As the country becomes inured to the bombastic antics of POTUS, outrage seethes in me, my incomprehension growing daily, along comes WE were eight years in power. In this collection of essays, written between 2008 and 2016, Coates, uses U.S. history, race and inequality as a backdrop to chronicle how DT was elected to the presidency as a backlash to Obama.
Brace yourself, read it, and then ponder the truths in this book for as long as it takes to understand that the ever growing divide in this country, is about race and inequality.
Brace yourself, read it, and then ponder the truths in this book for as long as it takes to understand that the ever growing divide in this country, is about race and inequality.
Brilliant and unflinching - quite frankly, the best book on race in America that I've read in some time.
This book is a compilation of 8 articles Coates wrote during and immediately after the Obama years (all originally published in The Atlantic), spliced with introductory memoirs chapters. If you follow his writing you've probably read the articles before. It was good to reread most. (Though seeing them assembled highlights his narrative 'crutches' -- stories and characters that almost always appear.)
Glad he's around to bring some sober assessment, and I appreciate the framing of the American story as a tragedy that deserves the effort anyway.
Glad he's around to bring some sober assessment, and I appreciate the framing of the American story as a tragedy that deserves the effort anyway.
I don’t know why I decided to read this book specifically *right now* and decided to finish reading this book on Election Day 2020, but...here we are.
I have a lot of thoughts and feelings. This was an insightful and informative collection of essays, and I particularly enjoyed the updated/added context to the essays that were written years prior.
I think the essays that hit me the hardest were the sixth, seventh, and eighth essays — reparations, mass incarceration, and My President Was Black. I learned a lot, and am ashamed to say I was stunned by seeing some of the incarceration statistics in black and white, comparing to previous decades or other countries.
I quickly skimmed the epilogue, so I will need to go back and reread at some point, but not on today of all days. Masterful work, everyone should read this.
I have a lot of thoughts and feelings. This was an insightful and informative collection of essays, and I particularly enjoyed the updated/added context to the essays that were written years prior.
I think the essays that hit me the hardest were the sixth, seventh, and eighth essays — reparations, mass incarceration, and My President Was Black. I learned a lot, and am ashamed to say I was stunned by seeing some of the incarceration statistics in black and white, comparing to previous decades or other countries.
I quickly skimmed the epilogue, so I will need to go back and reread at some point, but not on today of all days. Masterful work, everyone should read this.
Excellent & challenging read. Coates give insights to 8 essays he wrote during Obama's 8 years in office. He gives insight into how & why Trump was elected. As a direct result of 8 years of a black presidency. For those who are unaware of the history of our country that causes such a disparity between blacks and whites in our country, this will open your eyes and enlighten you. When reading and wrestling with these challenging ideas, it is easy to feel hopeless about the future of our country. It is important for all people, especially white people, to understand the role we have played in this disparity and work for change and teach our children to work for change. The final essay of the book was written after Trump's election. It was eye opening to read the statistics of who votes for Trump. In the initial weeks and months after the election, pundits would argue that disillusioned working class whites were responsible for electing Trump. Coates has the statistics to prove that is not the entire story. Well researched, insightful and incredibly well written. I highly recommend.
This is a strong read, even for folks who have absorbed most of Ta-Nehisi's work over the last several years.
It's essentially an anthology of Coates' biggest work during the Obama years, framed by short explanations of what he was reading and thinking about at the time he constructed the pieces that would make a name for him in The Atlantic.
What emerges from it is a fairly cohesive narrative that takes us from the unlikely rise of Obama in the wake of the financial crisis, through his well-meaning and often-derailed term as President, and to the conclusion with the election of Donald Trump — an event that, far from being unlikely, Coates casts as an almost historically inevitable reassertion of white identity in the wake of the nation's first black president.
To wit: "Barack Obama delivered to black people the hoary message that in working twice as hard as white people, anything is possible. But Trump’s counter is persuasive—work half as hard as black people and even more is possible."
But I think the idea that Donald Trump was elected as a white president in perhaps the same way Obama was elected as a black president is fraught, at least as we all pivot to imagine what comes next.
Don't get me wrong, there is no doubting that Donald Trump was able to mobilize the most explicitly racist coalition to assemble behind a presidential candidate since Woodrow Wilson. One of the singular achievements of the book is how effectively it charts opposition to the candidacy and then presidency of Obama as the genesis of this recent surge in white supremacy — not as a moment singular to 2016.
Trump voters are actually every bit as wealthy as their blue state counterparts on the whole, Coates argues, and the factor that comes closest to defining them as a group is the monotone natural of the communities in which they live. This gives the lie to the narrative that the rise of President Trump was entirely due to effete coastal elites alienating the white working class with their safe spaces and other cultural sensitivities.
But in terms of either diagnosing what turned the tide of the 2016 election or thinking about how the Democrats will go about assembling a coalition for the 2020 race (groan), I'm not sure how focusing on whiteness and how to abolish it is going to be a plank that carries an electoral majority.
From a practical political standpoint, it's hard to argue with the logic of President Obama's savvy calculation that the best way to help poor black folks is to create policies and programs that the boats of all working class people — and in so doing help more black folks than not. That is a strategy that casts a wide net that could undergird a broad and effective political coalition.
Coates makes an excellent moral argument in The Case For Reparations, but he seems unwilling to compromise that vision as a politician would by assessing honestly what kind of political program is practically possible. With African-American voters a captured demographic of the Democratic party, the political benefits of explicitly racial programs would be felt, in the best of scenarios, in terms of turnout and messaging. I don't know that it wins you any swing voters. More likely, it gives enemies of the Left ammo to use against them — whether it's done in a racist way or not.
But maybe playing politics is cowardice. In the same way that our founders were cowards for tolerating slavery for the sake of the union or figures like Jefferson were cowards for failing to do what they knew was right for the sake of appearances. Maybe there is a vision of a political program out there that somehow incorporates the hard realities involved with confronting whiteness while offering enough of a positive program to carry a majority.
Coates seems to think so: "And there can be no conflict between the naming of whiteness and the naming of the degradation brought about by an unrestrained capitalism, by the privileging of greed and the legal encouragement to hoarding and more elegant plunder. I have never seen a contradiction between calling for reparations and calling for a living wage, on calling for legitimate law enforcement and single-payer health care. They are related—but cannot stand in for one another. I see the fight against sexism, racism, poverty, and even war finding their union not in synonymity but in their ultimate goal—a world more humane."
We'll see! As always with Coates though, I found a lot worth thinking about in this book, even if I didn't agree with it. I also always appreciate the way he cites the work of people who influenced his argument, which has helped me identify some follow-up reads.
It's essentially an anthology of Coates' biggest work during the Obama years, framed by short explanations of what he was reading and thinking about at the time he constructed the pieces that would make a name for him in The Atlantic.
What emerges from it is a fairly cohesive narrative that takes us from the unlikely rise of Obama in the wake of the financial crisis, through his well-meaning and often-derailed term as President, and to the conclusion with the election of Donald Trump — an event that, far from being unlikely, Coates casts as an almost historically inevitable reassertion of white identity in the wake of the nation's first black president.
To wit: "Barack Obama delivered to black people the hoary message that in working twice as hard as white people, anything is possible. But Trump’s counter is persuasive—work half as hard as black people and even more is possible."
But I think the idea that Donald Trump was elected as a white president in perhaps the same way Obama was elected as a black president is fraught, at least as we all pivot to imagine what comes next.
Don't get me wrong, there is no doubting that Donald Trump was able to mobilize the most explicitly racist coalition to assemble behind a presidential candidate since Woodrow Wilson. One of the singular achievements of the book is how effectively it charts opposition to the candidacy and then presidency of Obama as the genesis of this recent surge in white supremacy — not as a moment singular to 2016.
Trump voters are actually every bit as wealthy as their blue state counterparts on the whole, Coates argues, and the factor that comes closest to defining them as a group is the monotone natural of the communities in which they live. This gives the lie to the narrative that the rise of President Trump was entirely due to effete coastal elites alienating the white working class with their safe spaces and other cultural sensitivities.
But in terms of either diagnosing what turned the tide of the 2016 election or thinking about how the Democrats will go about assembling a coalition for the 2020 race (groan), I'm not sure how focusing on whiteness and how to abolish it is going to be a plank that carries an electoral majority.
From a practical political standpoint, it's hard to argue with the logic of President Obama's savvy calculation that the best way to help poor black folks is to create policies and programs that the boats of all working class people — and in so doing help more black folks than not. That is a strategy that casts a wide net that could undergird a broad and effective political coalition.
Coates makes an excellent moral argument in The Case For Reparations, but he seems unwilling to compromise that vision as a politician would by assessing honestly what kind of political program is practically possible. With African-American voters a captured demographic of the Democratic party, the political benefits of explicitly racial programs would be felt, in the best of scenarios, in terms of turnout and messaging. I don't know that it wins you any swing voters. More likely, it gives enemies of the Left ammo to use against them — whether it's done in a racist way or not.
But maybe playing politics is cowardice. In the same way that our founders were cowards for tolerating slavery for the sake of the union or figures like Jefferson were cowards for failing to do what they knew was right for the sake of appearances. Maybe there is a vision of a political program out there that somehow incorporates the hard realities involved with confronting whiteness while offering enough of a positive program to carry a majority.
Coates seems to think so: "And there can be no conflict between the naming of whiteness and the naming of the degradation brought about by an unrestrained capitalism, by the privileging of greed and the legal encouragement to hoarding and more elegant plunder. I have never seen a contradiction between calling for reparations and calling for a living wage, on calling for legitimate law enforcement and single-payer health care. They are related—but cannot stand in for one another. I see the fight against sexism, racism, poverty, and even war finding their union not in synonymity but in their ultimate goal—a world more humane."
We'll see! As always with Coates though, I found a lot worth thinking about in this book, even if I didn't agree with it. I also always appreciate the way he cites the work of people who influenced his argument, which has helped me identify some follow-up reads.
Comprised of 8 essays written during the Obama presidency, each introduced in memoir form, this book is another example of Coates’ precise and analytical investigation of race relations in the US. He is truly an excellent writer and I found the topics all very interesting, even with some repetition and overlap between essays and with other non-fiction that Coates has written.
Follow the link for my full review:
https://lizzieinthecity.wordpress.com/2018/01/03/we-were-eight-years-in-power-an-article-anthology-worthy-of-the-time-and-the-debate/
Ta-Nehisi Coates compiled some of his best and most pertinent articles from The Atlantic to create “We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy.” Each article has an introduction, which includes Coates’ thoughts on the article, the reception of the article, and autobiographical snippets showing how his life had changed during the course of Obama’s presidency.
If you don’t read The Atlantic or avidly follow Coates, then “Eight Years” can serve as a superb introduction to Coates and showcases some of his best writing. I’ve been a fan of Coates for several years, so I had already read many of these articles. (In fact, I have read and recommended “The Case for Reparations” at least a half dozen times.) Because I had read so much of the book already, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of new content, but that doesn’t mean that this anthology is without merit.
https://lizzieinthecity.wordpress.com/2018/01/03/we-were-eight-years-in-power-an-article-anthology-worthy-of-the-time-and-the-debate/
Ta-Nehisi Coates compiled some of his best and most pertinent articles from The Atlantic to create “We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy.” Each article has an introduction, which includes Coates’ thoughts on the article, the reception of the article, and autobiographical snippets showing how his life had changed during the course of Obama’s presidency.
If you don’t read The Atlantic or avidly follow Coates, then “Eight Years” can serve as a superb introduction to Coates and showcases some of his best writing. I’ve been a fan of Coates for several years, so I had already read many of these articles. (In fact, I have read and recommended “The Case for Reparations” at least a half dozen times.) Because I had read so much of the book already, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of new content, but that doesn’t mean that this anthology is without merit.
The crux seems to be -- how do we actively ensure not just that people find their lives meaningful without comparing them to the lives of others, but specifically that people *do not* find meaning in superiority?
"When the homophobe says that same-sex marriage will alter the definition of marriage, he is still a homophobe but he is not a liar. The right of exclusion is part of his definition of an institution that is vital for him and gives his life meaning...White supremacy is a crime and a lie, but it’s also a machine that generates meaning. This existential gift, as much as anything, is the source of its enormous, centuries-spanning power."
"When the homophobe says that same-sex marriage will alter the definition of marriage, he is still a homophobe but he is not a liar. The right of exclusion is part of his definition of an institution that is vital for him and gives his life meaning...White supremacy is a crime and a lie, but it’s also a machine that generates meaning. This existential gift, as much as anything, is the source of its enormous, centuries-spanning power."