Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates (2015), Coates writes a letter to his fifteen-year-old son, Samori, to inform him and share his experience of racial hegemony in America today. Coates letter to his son is the version of the talk, the talk parents needs to have with their kids. This talk isnt so much so of the typical talk that parents give about sex and etc. more so a preventative talk to inform Samori what it means to be black in todays society. Coates states, That was the week you learned that the killers of Michael Brown would go free. The men who had left his body in the street like some awesome declaration of their inviolable power would never be punished. It was not my expectation that anyone would ever be punished. However, you were young and still believed. (Coates, 11) this letter, or this talk was triggered by Samoris emotional reaction to the announcement that no charges were brought ag
ainst the officer who killed Michael Brown. Coates states, And destruction is merely the superlative form of a dominion whose prerogatives include friskings, detainings, beatings, and humiliations. All of this is common to black people. And all of this is old for black people. No one is held responsible. (Coates, 9) As readers, we can sense Coates tone through this letter. I would have you be a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world. (Coates (108) Through Coatess tone, we can sense hes scared, hurt, angry, and frustrated. Coatess vulnerability and his concerns are not only for his sons future but also the future of America. Coates makes it clear that he did not write this letter with ill intentions towards white people; his problems are not with them. However, for him, to us, to the rest of the world, it is an eye-opener, to give them insight on racial hegemony that the black society is facing.