Coates has a valuable message for white liberals in “Water Dancer”: engaging in politics is not a luxury but a necessity.
Tag Archives: Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Underground Railway Returns
In Coates’s “Water Dancer,” we see the necessity of a reliable underground railway. We will need the same for red state women seeking abortions.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Abortion, Dobbs v Jackson, Underground Railroad, Water Dancer Comments closed
The Deep Roots of U.S. Race Hatred
Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “Water Dancer” describes race dynamics in slave society that still operate today.
The Minefield of Talking about Race
More thoughts on how to address difficult questions of race, again with the help of Aphra Behn.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aphra Behn, Jonathan Chait, Oroonoko, Race, race conversations Comments closed
Race Disagreements amongst Friends
The intricacies of the debate between Chait and Coates on the culture of poverty can be sorted out by applying Aphra Behn’s “Oroonoko.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aphra Behn, culture of poverty, Jonathan Chait, Oroonoko, politics, racism Comments closed
Using Austen to Understand Racism
African American blogger Ta-Nehisi Coates uses Jane Austen’s villainous Fanny Dashwood to penetrate the mindset of American racists.
