Blog Post #7 - Victoria Nemeth

I had never read anything by Coates prior to the article, “The Case for Reparations,” and his book, Between the World and Me.  As I read through his book, I am finding that his tone and voice are very unique.  For starters, I haven’t read many books written with second person point of view, so this is interesting to me.  I think the fact that it is sort of a letter to his son makes it very special and more personal. I have enjoyed reading this book because it is very eye opening and I feel as if I am getting more educated and informed on topics that I haven’t learned a lot about.  

Coatses’s writing is engaging to me because I think his word choice and the way he presents ideas is very thought-provoking.  As I was reading through his book, Between the World and Me, I started to see some of the things we had been talking about in class come through his writing.  I saw some of his sponsors of literacy and some of the literacy he acquired through his life. One of the literacies he talked about that was essential to him was the literacy of the street and the street culture.  He also learned literacy in his own culture and race. He talked about growing up with a fear of losing his body, and that forced him to have to learn the way of the streets and be very smart about his movements, what he said, and how he dressed.  When I think of literacy, this isn’t something I think of. This book gave me insight into literacy, and how there are many different kinds of literacies that cover many different capacities.  

During the part of the book when Coates starts talking about Howard University, he got into his different sponsors in literacy in his culture and heritage.  I thought this part was so interesting because he talks about all of his different inspirations for writing and for life. I think that not only was he enlightened for his writing, but he was also enlightened in his spirit, his life.  He talks about the people that he was able to interact with, and the professors he was able to learn from. He likens Howard University to the Mecca. At first I was confused by this, but after he kept repeating this, I think I understand why he made this comparison.  Mecca is the most spiritual and important destination in the Islam religion. This book isn’t about the Muslim religion, but I think that the idea and principles of Mecca still apply. I think what Coates was trying to get across to the reader while he was comparing his education at Howard U to the Mecca, was that while he was there, he gained some of the most fulfilling and spiritually freeing experiences, and met some of the most important people that have made the greatest impact on his life.  He talks about “being Out on the Yard,” and seeing himself for the first time as a part of a community, a community that changed him. There was a quote in the book where he talks about his decision to leave school, he said, “I felt that it was time to go, to declare myself a graduate of the Mecca, if not the university.” I think what he was trying to say here was that he felt fulfilled, and felt as if he got what he needed to feel that he was ready to move on to the next part of his journey in finding the meaning of his identity.