Between The World And Me Poem

Ta-Nehisi Coates has written a masterpiece in Between the World and Me, a letter to his son about: the system “white” people use to oppress black people; codes to live by in order to protect your body; and The Mecca, a safe haven for all black people. The central argument of Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates is that “white” people oppress black people so they can live in “The Dream.” The “Dream” that Coates’ talks about is the upward social mobility of “white” people through the oppression of black people, creating a gap between between the world’s of “white” people and black people. The “Dreamers” achieve “The Dream” through heritage, a network of laws, police brutality, suburbs and red lining, mass incarceration, and small and

I see both sides of the world Coates’ describes, my hometown connects to one of the most impoverished and crime ridden cities in the Country-Camden, NJ-while I live comfortably, a stones throw away in “The Dream.” I have seen similar racism to the type Mable Jones saw in high school, where black kids from outside my town, but attended my high school were “accepted” because they “weren’t really black”, but black kids who competed against us in sports were ostracized for the color of their skin (Coates 139). In addition to my connection to Dr. Jones, I have a strong connection to police officers. My dad was a Lieutenant in my local police department, and often had to deal with racism in the department, stories which he often shared with my brother and I. One such story, included an officer who racially profiled a black teenager from a neighboring town, and abused his body to the point of a few broken bones; although in this case the boy was not killed it is just another example of the way police officers have the ability to abuse their power and shatter black bodies with no justification (Coates 87). The officers in both Prince Jones’ case and the boy from my neighboring town, both returned to work with little to no repercussions (Coates 80). I have witnessed “white” people expressing their own thoughts and ideologies to me, but I have never personally been treated with less respect due to the color of my skin, and that is a feeling that I’ll never understand. Coates’ has done an excellent job in showing what it is like to live in a black body, however I can only sympathize with