American - Journalist | September 30, 1975 -
People sort of went crazy when 'BTWAM' came out. I'm happy a bunch of people read it. I'm happy it touched so many people. I'm less happy that it became an object for certain folks or was discussed that way. I'm less happy that journalists started scrolling through my kid's Instagram account.
Ta-Nehisi Coates
HappyPeopleCrazyWayKidOut
I never expected my writing to become as popular as it did.
WritingBecomeNeverExpectedDid
Long view of history shows evil triumphing more often than we'd like to admit. That's just how it is. I don't despair too much about dying, either. It's just a fact of being human.
HistoryEvilViewLongToo Much
I'm a writer. My job is to speak what - that which I think is true. If that bridges the gap, that's good. If it doesn't, that's too bad.
GoodJobSpeakThinkBridgesBad
I don't know that white people need to be 'allies' so much as understand that any black struggle in America is ultimately a struggle for the large country. 'Ally' presumes a kind of distance that I am not sure exists.
StruggleI AmPeopleBlackAmerica
I think human societies tend to be problematic.
ThinkHumanI ThinkProblematicTend
I guess I'd be put in the ID politics camp. But there is really nothing in the world-view of, say, Bernie Sanders I actually disagree with. I'd like a guaranteed income, single-payer health care, a stronger safety net, etc. The problem is the temptation to paper over historically fraught issues to achieve that is tempting.
HealthPoliticsSafetyCareProblem
I've seen, and liked, 'Insecure' and 'Atlanta.'
AtlantaSeenLikedInsecure
From last century's 'The Birth of a Nation' to this century's 'Gods and Generals,' Hollywood has likely done more than any other American institution to obstruct a truthful apprehension of the Civil War and, thus, modern America's very origins.
WarAmericanAmericaDoneHollywood
Storytellers have the right to answer any question they choose.
ChooseQuestionRightAnswerAny
With George Bush's policies, I could make an argument for how they affect black people in a negative way. You know what I mean? But I wouldn't argue that he's a white supremacist.
PeopleNegativeBlackYouWhiteWay
I wouldn't argue that Mitt Romney is a white supremacist.
WhiteArgueMitt RomneyRomneyMitt
Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Ta-Nehisi Coates quotes