Between The World And Me By Ta-Nehisi Coates's 'The White Boy Shuffle'

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a letter written to the author’s son revealing his own stories and also telling his son of the world that they live in. He tells him how it felt being black in the United States and the realities that came with it. Furthermore, he explains to his young son lessons that will hopefully open his eyes to the world’s harsh reality, Coates’ tells his son that “racist violence has been woven into American culture (Coates).” This violence has been following them since the day they were born and they have been running from it ever since. Gunnar Kaufman from the book The White Boy Shuffle, by Paul Beatty also encounters this violence after being mostly left alone at his previous home. Both of these men
Black violence is still a problem in today’s world and countless people have tried different methods to slow or stop this issue. Thus, many people and children have resorted to school and education as their sanctuary and it has proven to be an escape for many blacks in dangerous neighborhoods. Although the violence may highlight part of their lives’, their journey to discovering their manhood does not stem from ferocity or power, they found a way to channel their energy towards their minds and that in itself gave them an inner path towards their individual conceptualization of masculinity. Ta-Nehisi Coates grew up in a neighborhood where violence was a norm. Most people in the Baltimore ghettos knew what going out onto the street entailed. If you were not a part of a gang, you were not protected and
They accounted for about 61% of robbery arrest in 87’ as well as 55% of homicide arrests, though they only accounted for 11% of the general population (Sampson 348). As astonishing as those numbers are, they represented the problems which were engulfing the country. Consequently, this violence was causing even more of a racial divide than there was before. For instance, minorities were struggling with money and instead of turning to the path of education and seeking social mobility, most went down the so-called “easy” path. This path leads to drugs, violence, death and general unhappiness. As Sampson continues to explain, “Race is one of the strongest predictors of major social dislocations in American cities. Black communities are characterized by disproportionately high rates of drug addiction, welfare dependence, out-of-wedlock births, teenage pregnancy, and families headed by females (Sampson 348).” The image of the black body at this time was one of savagery, foolishness, and senselessness. Coates was always in fear for his body, he did not know whether someone could take it from him, “I remember being amazed that death could so easily rise up from nothing of a boyish afternoon, billow up like fog (Coates 20).”