An Ode To Coates

  In the spring of 2015 a young man of twenty years of age was in search of understanding. The place where this understanding presented itself was in the fortress of a library named after the late A. Phillip Randolph. Finding a weapon of choice was difficult, but the young man eventually found a nice piece of steel.  

   This groundbreaking and exquisite piece of steel was a book titled Between The World And Me by no other than Mr. Ta-Nehisi Coates.  

   Truth be told I saw this book on a few shelves but I never bothered to pick it up. However, at the fourth siting I decided to pick it up for a read. Doing this was never a regret whatsoever. From the displaying of a father-son relationship to the explanation of what it means to exist in a black body was done well. The book was so moving that although I finished it I went and got it as a Christmas gift (reading it twice in less than a year).  

   During a period of trauma and false allegations this book kept me sane and gave me a new sense of understanding that I desperately needed. Not to mention the fact that twenty-one was right around the corner and a critical analysis of my society was extremely needed. Thanks to this book I felt inspired to exercise my writing chops. Following this came five journals and eleven blogs series'. As we all know the rest is history.

  Before I go onto the next story I would like to pay my respect to Coates.  

  Mr. Ta-Nehisi Coates is not just a boy from Baltimore, but a walking manifestation that we all should aim to be. His voice is as important as Malcolm X, MLK, and Barack Obama. I happen to agree with Toni Morrison regarding the fact that Coates best resembles the late James Baldwin when it goes to intellectual prowess. With a novel to be released in September 2019 the future still seems bright. Him being on my top three list you know I want a fresh copy. Cheerio.