1. “I knew that Prince was not killed by a single officer so much as her was murdered by his country and all the fears that have marked it from birth,” (Coates 78). Why might Coates see the killing of Prince Jones in this way? Or, how does shifting the focus from the actions of a single officer to the US and a historical fear of Black people alter the way we see police violence of killing?
Coates might see the killing of Prince Jones this way because of the line of murders and brutality that had happened before and after the death of Prince Jones. Coates writes about how “The PG County police had killed Elmer Clay Newton . . . And I knew they had beaten Freddie McCollum half-blind and blamed it on a collapsing floor,” (Coates 75). Coates sees the uprising of Black people being targeted, and connects it to a bigger, more widespread group than a singular police officer. Shifting this focus, the reader can see a broader outbreak of reports on violence targeted on POC, connecting the killings together. This focus leads to the connection of racism in our society, based on assumptions people have made.
2. “The galaxy belong to them [Whites on West Broadway], and as terror was communicated to our children, I saw mastery communicated to theirs,” (Coates 89). What do you think Coates means by this distinction between communicating terror and communicating mastery?
I think Coates means by the distinction of terror and mastery is the power imbalance based on racism. The White people that Coates describes on page 89 do not worry about having their bodies being harmed, while Coates did live in a world where he had to be concerned about his body. A quote that I think connects to this is: “My death would not be the fault of any human but the fault of some unfortunate but immutable fact of “race” imposed upon an innocent country by the inscrutable judgement of invisible gods,” (Coates 83). As much as the Declaration of Independence talks about everyone being equal, While people were the only ones who had a hand in writing that document. White people conquered the country and made the rules, making them feel empowered when others might have felt helpless.
3. Read “Black and Blue,” an early Ta-Nehisi Coates newspaper article that reports on Prince Georges County and Police brutality. It is nearly 20 years old and written when Coates was just 25. In 2020, what does Coates’ reporting tell you?
This tells me that the world has not changed a dramatic amount since this article was written. The widespread of media is publicizing more and more things that happen in the US and the world, but the police brutality against POC is still going on.
Works Cited:
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. Spiegel & Grau, 2015.
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “Black and Blue.” Washington Monthly, 1 June 2001, https://washingtonmonthly.com/2001/06/01/black-and-blue/.
