Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author and journalist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political issues, particularly regarding

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

and

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

.Fortin, Jacey (July 20, 2018)
"Ta-Nehisi Coates Is Leaving The Atlantic"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Coates has worked for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'', ''

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial mix is focused ...

'', and ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

''. He has contributed to ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

The Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alterna ...

'', '' O'', and other publications. He has published three non-fiction books: ''The Beautiful Struggle'', ''

Between the World and Me ''Between the World and Me'' is a 2015 nonfiction book written by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It is written as a letter to the author's teenage son about the feelings, symbolism, and realities associated wi ...

'', and '' We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy''. ''Between the World and Me'' won the 2015

National Book Award for Nonfiction The National Book Award for Nonfiction is one of five U.S. annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by U.S. citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers". The panelists ...

. He has also written a ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

'' series and a ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' series for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. His first novel, ''

The Water Dancer ''The Water Dancer'' is the debut novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates, published on September 24, 2019, by Random House under its One World imprint. It is a surrealist story set in the pre–Civil War South, concerning a superhuman protagonist named Hiram ...

'', was published in 2019. In 2015 he received a

Genius Grant The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...

from the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

Early life

Coates was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. His father, William Paul Coates (known by his middle name), was a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

veteran, former

, publisher, and librarian. His mother, Cheryl Lynn Coates (née Waters), was a teacher. Coates' father founded and ran Black Classic Press, a publishing company specializing in African-American titles. The Press grew out of a grassroots organization, the George Jackson Prison Movement (GJPM), which initially operated a Black bookstore called the Black Book. Later Black Classic Press was established with a table-top printing press in the basement of the Coates family home. Coates' father had seven children, five boys and two girls, by four women. Coates' father's first wife had three children, Coates' mother had two boys, and the other two women each had a child. The children were raised together in a close-knit family; most lived with their mothers and at times lived with their father. Coates has said that he lived with his father for the entirety of his upbringing, and that, in his family, the important overarching focus was on rearing children with values based on family, respect for elders and being a contribution to your community, an approach to family that was common in the community where he grew up. Coates grew up in the Mondawmin neighborhood of Baltimore during the

crack epidemic The crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States throughout the entirety of the 1980s and the early 1990s. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in Ameri ...

. Coates' interest in literature was instilled at an early age when his mother, in response to bad behavior, would require him to write essays. His father's work with the Black Classic Press was a huge influence. Coates has said that he read many of the books his father published. Coates attended a number of Baltimore-area schools, including William H. Lemmel Middle School and

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute The Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, colloquially referred to as BPI, Poly, and The Institute, is a U.S. public high school founded in 1883. Established as an all-male manual trade / vocational school by the Baltimore City Council and the Balti ...

, before graduating from Woodlawn High School. He attended

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, leaving after five years to start a career in journalism. He is the only child in his family without a college degree. In mid-2014, Coates attended an intensive program in French at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

to prepare for a writing fellowship in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France.

Career

Journalism

Coates' first journalism job was as a reporter at ''

The Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial mix is focused ...

''; his editor was David Carr. From 2000 to 2007, Coates worked as a journalist with various publications, including ''

Philadelphia Weekly ''Philadelphia Weekly'' (''PW'') is a website based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a newspaper in 1971 as ''The Welcomat'', a sister publication to the ''South Philadelphia Press''. In 1995, the paper became ''Philadelphia Weekl ...

'', ''

'', and ''

''. His first article for ''

'', "This Is How We Lost to the White Man", about

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

and conservatism, started a new, more successful and stable phase of his career. The article led to an appointment with a regular column for ''The Atlantic'', a blog that was popular, influential, and had a high level of community engagement. Coates became a senior editor at ''The Atlantic'', for which he wrote feature articles as well as maintaining his blog. Topics covered by the blog included politics, history, race, culture as well as sports, and music. His writings on race, such as his September 2012 ''The Atlantic'' cover piece "Fear of a Black President" and his June 2014 feature "

The Case for Reparations "The Case for Reparations" is an article written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and published in ''The Atlantic'' in 2014. The article focuses on redlining and housing discrimination through the eyes of people who have experienced it and the devastating ...

", have been especially praised, and won his blog a place on the Best Blogs of 2011 list by ''Time'' magazine and the 2012

Hillman Prize The Hillman Prize is a journalism award given out annually by The Sidney Hillman Foundation, named for noted American labor leader Sidney Hillman. It is given to "journalists, writers and public figures who pursue social justice and public polic ...

for Opinion & Analysis Journalism from The

Sidney Hillman Sidney Hillman (March 23, 1887 – July 10, 1946) was an American labor leader. He was the head of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and was a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and in marshaling labor' ...

Foundation. His blog has been praised for its engaging comments section, which Coates curates and moderates heavily so that "the jerks are invited to leave ndthe grown-ups to stay and chime in." In discussing ''The Atlantic'' article on "The Case for Reparations", Coates said he had worked on it for almost two years. He had read

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

professor Beryl Satter's book, ''Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America'', a history of

redlining In the United States, redlining is a discriminatory practice in which services (financial and otherwise) are withheld from potential customers who reside in neighborhoods classified as "hazardous" to investment; these neighborhoods have signif ...

that included a discussion of the grassroots organization the Contract Buyers League, of which Clyde Ross was one of the leaders. The focus of the article was not so much on

reparations for slavery Reparations for slavery is the application of the concept of reparations to victims of slavery and/or their descendants. There are concepts for reparations in legal philosophy and reparations in transitional justice. Reparations can take numer ...

, but was instead a focus on the

institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health ...

of housing discrimination. Coates has worked as a guest columnist for ''

'', having turned down an offer from them to become a regular columnist. He has written for ''The Washington Post'', the ''

Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine is known for its annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which serves as an alternat ...

'', and ''O'' magazine. Coates left his position as a national correspondent for ''The Atlantic'' in July 2018 after a decade with the magazine. In a memo to the staff, the editor in chief,

Jeffrey Goldberg Jeffrey Mark Goldberg (born September 22, 1965) is an American journalist and editor-in-chief of ''The Atlantic'' magazine. During his nine years at ''The Atlantic'' prior to becoming editor, Goldberg became known for his coverage of foreign affa ...

, said: "The last few years for him have been years of significant changes. He's told me that he would like to take some time to reflect on these changes, and to figure out the best path forward, both as a person and as a writer."

Author

''The Beautiful Struggle''

In 2008, Coates published ''The Beautiful Struggle'', a memoir about coming of age in West Baltimore and its effect on him. In the book, he discusses the influence of his father W. Paul Coates, a former Black Panther; the prevailing street crime of the era and its effects on his older brother; his own troubled experience attending Baltimore-area schools; and his eventual graduation and enrollment in Howard University. The lack of interpersonal skills and the complexity of Coates's father figure in the book sheds light on a world of absentee fathers. As

Rich Benjamin Rich Benjamin is an American cultural critic, anthropologist, and author. Benjamin is perhaps best known for the non-fiction book '' Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America''. He is also a lecturer and a publ ...

states in a September 2016 article in ''The Guardian'', "Fatherhood is a vexed topic, particularly so for an author such as Coates" and continues with "''The Beautiful Struggle'' makes an enduring genre cliche—the father-son relationship—unexpected and new, as well as offering a vital insight into Coates's coming of age as a man and thinker."

''Between the World and Me''

Coates' second book, ''

'', was published in July 2015. The title is drawn from a Richard Wright poem of the same name about a black man discovering the site of a lynching and becoming incapacitated with fear, creating a barrier between himself and the world. Coates said that one of the origins of the book was the death of a college friend, Prince Carmen Jones Jr., who was shot by police in a case of mistaken identity. One of the themes of the book was what physically affected African-American lives, such as their bodies being enslaved, violence that came from slavery, and various forms of institutional racism. The book won the 2015

and was a finalist for the 2016

Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are awarded annually for the "Letters, Drama, and Music" category. The award is given to a nonfiction book written by an American author and published duri ...

. The book was ranked 7th on ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'''s list of the 100 best books of the 21st century.

''Black Panther''

In 2016, Coates was the writer of the sixth volume of

' ''

'' series, which teamed him with artist

Brian Stelfreeze Brian Stelfreeze is an American comic book artist. Stelfreeze is a painter, penciller, inker and colorist and has worked for nearly every major American comic book publisher. He is one of the original members of Atlanta's Gaijin Studios. Career ...

. Issue #1 went on sale April 6, 2016, and sold an estimated 253,259 physical copies, the best-selling comic for the month of April 2016. He also wrote a spinoff of ''Black Panther'' — '' Black Panther and the Crew'' — that ran for six issues before it was canceled. In 2018, Coates announced he would be writing a ninth volume of the ''

'' series, which would team him with artists

Leinil Yu Leinil Francis Yu (born 1977) is a Filipino comic book artist, who began working for the American market through Wildstorm Productions. Career Leinil Francis Yu was first recognized after winning the '' Wizard''s Drawing Board Contest, his first ...

and

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...

''We Were Eight Years in Power''

Coates' collection of previously published essays on the Obama Era, '' We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy'', was announced by Random House, with a release date of October 3, 2017. Coates added essays written especially for the book bridging the gaps between the previously-published essays, as well as an introduction and an epilogue. The book's title is a quote from 19th-century African-American congressman Thomas E. Miller of South Carolina, who asked why white Southerners hated African Americans after all the good they had done during the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

. Coates sees parallels between that earlier period and the Obama presidency.

''The Water Dancer''

Coates' first novel and work of fiction, ''The Water Dancer'', was published in 2019, and is a surrealist story set in the time of slavery, concerning a superhuman protagonist named Hiram Walker who possesses photographic memory, but who cannot remember his mother, and is able to transport people over far distances by using a power known as "conduction" which can fold the Earth like fabric and allows him to travel across large areas via waterways. The novel is also an

Oprah's Book Club Oprah's Book Club was a book discussion club segment of the United States, American talk show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', highlighting books chosen by host Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey started the book club in 1996, selecting a new book, usually a nov ...

selection.

Teaching

Coates was the 2012–2014 MLK visiting scholar for writing at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. He joined the

CUNY Graduate School of Journalism The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York is a public graduate journalism school located in New York City. One of the 24 institutions comprising the City University of New York, or CUNY, the school opened ...

as its journalist-in-residence in late 2014. In 2017, Coates joined the faculty of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute as a Distinguished Writer in Residence. In 2021, Coates joined the

faculty as writer-in-residence in the College of Arts and Sciences and holds the Sterling Brown chair in the English Department.

Projects

As of 2019, Coates was working on ''America in the King Years'', which is a television project with

David Simon David Judah Simon (born February 9, 1960) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work on ''The Wire'' (2002–08). He worked for ''The Baltimore Sun'' City Desk for twelve years (1982–95), wrote '' Hom ...

Taylor Branch Taylor Branch (born January 14, 1947) is an American author and historian who wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning trilogy chronicling the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and much of the history of the American civil rights movement. The final volume o ...

, and James McBride. The project is about

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

and the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

, based on one of the volumes of the books ''

America in the King Years ''America in the King Years'' is a three-volume history of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement by Taylor Branch, which he wrote between 1982 and 2006. The three individual volumes have won a variety of awards, including the 19 ...

'' written by Branch, specifically ''At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965–1968''. The project will be produced by

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

and air on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

. Coates is working on a novel about an African American from Chicago who moves to Paris. Coates is set to adapt Rachel Aviv's 2014 ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' article "Wrong Answer" into a full-length feature film of the same title, starring

Michael B. Jordan Michael Bakari Jordan (; born February 9, 1987) is an American actor. He is known for his film roles as shooting victim Oscar Grant in the drama ''Fruitvale Station'' (2013), boxer Adonis Creed in ''Creed'' (2015), and Erik Killmonger in ''Bl ...

with direction by

Ryan Coogler Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards, four Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globe Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Pictu ...

. In February 2021, it was reported that Coates had been hired to write the script of a new ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

'' feature film from

DC Films DC Studios is an American film and television studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, am ...

and

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

, with

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...

producing.

Views on race in the United States

In an interview with

Ezra Klein Ezra Klein (born May 10, 1984) is an American journalist, political analyst, ''New York Times'' columnist, and the host of ''The Ezra Klein Show'' podcast. He is a co-founder of '' Vox'' and formerly served as the website's editor-at-large. He h ...

, Coates outlined his analysis that the extent of

white identity White identity is the objective or subjective state of perceiving oneself as a white person and as relating to being white. White identity has been researched in data and polling, historically and in social sciences. There are however polarized pos ...

expression in the United States serves as a critical factor in threat perceptions of certain

European Americans European Americans (also referred to as Euro-Americans) are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes people who are descended from the first European settlers in the United States as well as people who are descended from more recent Eu ...

and their response to political paradigm shifts related to

, such as the presidency of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

Personal life

Coates' first name, Ta-Nehisi, is derived from an Ancient Egyptian language name for

Nubia Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...

. Nubia is a region along the Nile river in present-day northern Sudan and southern Egypt. As a child, Coates enjoyed comic books and ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

''. Coates lived in

for a residency. In 2009, he lived in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

with his wife, Kenyatta Matthews, and son, Samori Maceo-Paul Coates. His son's name is a reference to three people:

Samori Ture Samory Toure ( – June 2, 1900), also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Muslim cleric, a military strategist, and the founder and leader of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic empire that was in present-day ...

, a Mandé chief who fought

French colonialism The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existe ...

, black Cuban revolutionary

Antonio Maceo Grajales Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales (June 14, 1845December 7, 1896) was second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence. Fellow Cubans gave Maceo the nickname “The Bronze Titan" ( es, El Titán de Bronce, links=no), ...

, and Coates' father, who was known by his middle name of Paul. Coates met his wife when they were both students at

. He is an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. With his family, Coates moved to

Prospect Lefferts Gardens Prospect Lefferts Gardens is a residential neighborhood in the Flatbush area of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The community is bounded by Empire Boulevard (formerly Malbone Street) to the north, Clarkson Avenue to the south, New York A ...

, Brooklyn, New York, in 2001. They purchased a brownstone in Prospect Lefferts Gardens in 2016. In 2016, he was made a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

. In December 2017, Coates, who had a following of more than 1.25 million Twitter users, deactivated his Twitter account after a disagreement with philosopher and activist

Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, political activist, social critic, actor, and public intellectual. The grandson of a Baptist minister, West focuses on the role of race, gender, and class in American society an ...

over West's editorial in ''

'', titled "Ta-Nehisi Coates is the

neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

face of the black freedom struggle". Coates caused some controversy in 2021 for his writing of ''Captain America'', volume 9 #28, in which he depicted the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

super-villain

Red Skull The Red Skull is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and its predecessor Timely Comics. The first version, George Maxon, appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 and #4. The main ...

espousing the writings of the Canadian conservative clinical psychologist

Jordan Peterson Jordan Bernt Peterson (born 12 June 1962) is a Canadian media personality, clinical psychologist, author, and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. He began to receive widespread attention as a public intellectual in the late 2010s ...

. Peterson stated that his work was used out of context in order to portray him negatively, describing it as an "attack" on himself.

Awards

* 2012:

for Opinion and Analysis Journalism * 2013:

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

for Essays and Criticism for "Fear of a Black President" * 2014:

George Polk Award The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the award ...

for Commentary for "The Case for Reparations" * 2015: Harriet Beecher Stowe Center Prize for Writing to Advance Social Justice for "The Case for Reparations" * 2015:

American Library in Paris The American Library in Paris is the largest English-language lending library on the European mainland. It operates as an independent, non-profit cultural association in France incorporated under the laws of Delaware. Library members have access t ...

Visiting Fellowship * 2015:

for ''

'' * 2015:

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation * 2015: Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction for ''

'' * 2018:

Dayton Literary Peace Prize The Dayton Literary Peace Prize is an annual United States literary award "recognizing the power of the written word to promote peace" that was first awarded in 2006. Awards are given for adult fiction and non-fiction books published at some point ...

in Nonfiction for ''We Were Eight Years in Power'' * 2018:

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

for Best Limited Series, for '' Black Panther: World of Wakanda'' (with

Roxane Gay Roxane Gay (born October 15, 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, and social commentator. Gay is the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling essay collection '' Bad Feminist'' (2014), as well as the short story collection ''Ayit ...

and

Alitha E. Martinez Alitha E. Martinez is an American comic book artist best known for her work on for Marvel Comics's ''Iron Man'', the ''List of Heroes graphic novels, Heroes'' webcomics, and DC Comics, DC's ''Batgirl''. Over the course of her career she has worked ...

) * 2020:

British Fantasy Society The British Fantasy Society (BFS) was founded in 1971 as the British Weird Fantasy Society, an offshoot of the British Science Fiction Association. The society is dedicated to promoting the best in the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. ...

Sydney J. Bounds Award for ''The Water Dancer''

Bibliography

Monographs

* ''Asphalt Sketches'' (poetry). Baltimore, Maryland: Sundiata Publications, 1990. . * ''The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood''. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2008. * '' Between the World and Me: Notes on the First 150 Years in America''. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2015. * '' We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy''. New York: One World, October 3, 2017.

Comics

* ''

'' vol. 6 #1–18, #166–172 (2016–2018) ** ''A Nation Under Our Feet Book 1'' (TPB, 144 pages, 2016, ) ** ''A Nation Under Our Feet Book 2'' (TPB, 144 pages, 2017, ) ** ''A Nation Under Our Feet Book 3'' (TPB, 144 pages, 2017, ) ** ''Avengers of the New World Book 1'' (TPB, 144 pages, 2017, ) ** ''Avengers of the New World Book 2'' (TPB, 136 pages, 2018, ) * ''Black Panther'' vol. 7, #1–25 (2018–2021) ** ''Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part 1'' (TPB, 136 pages, 2019, ) ** ''Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part 2'' (TPB, 136 pages, 2019, ) ** ''Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part 3'' (TPB, 136 pages, 2020, ) ** ''Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part 4'' (TPB, 176 pages, 2021, ) * ''Black Panther: World of Wakanda'' #1–6 (2016) (with

Yona Harvey Yona Harvey (born 1974) is an American poet and assistant professor at University of Pittsburgh. She won the 2014 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. She is also an author of Marvel Comics' ''World of Wakanda'', becoming one of the first two black women ...

) ** Vol. 1: Dawn of the Midnight Angels (TPB, 144 pages, 2017, ) * ''Black Panther and the Crew'' #1–6 (2017) (with Yona Harvey) ** Vol. 1: We Are the Streets (TPB, 136 pages, 2017, ) * ''

'' vol. 9 #1–30 (2018–2021) ** ''Winter in America'' (TPB, 152 pages, 2019, ) ** ''Captain of Nothing'' (TPB, 144 pages, 2019, ) ** ''The Legend of Steve'' (TPB, 152 pages, 2020, ) ** ''All Die Young'' (TPB, 144 pages, 2021, ) * ''Free Comic Book Day Vol 2018 Avengers''

Selected articles

"Promises of an Unwed Father"
'' O: the Oprah Magazine''. January 2006.
"American Girl"
''

''. January/February 2009. Profile on

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

. * "A Deeper Black". Early, Gerald Lyn, and Randall Kennedy. ''Best African American Essays, 2010''. New York: One World, Ballantine Books, 2010. pp. 15–22.
"Why Do So Few Blacks Study the Civil War?"
''The Atlantic''. The Civil War Issue. February 2012.
"Fear of a Black President"
Bennet, James. ''The Best American Magazine Writing 2013''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. pp. 3–32.
"How Learning a Foreign Language Reignited My Imagination: Pardon my French"
''The Atlantic''. Vol. 311, Issue 5. June 2013. pp. 44–45
"The Case for Reparations"
''The Atlantic''. June 2014.
"There Is No Post-Racial America"
''The Atlantic''. July/August 2015.
"The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration"
''The Atlantic''. October 2015.
"My President Was Black"
''The Atlantic''. December 2016.
"The First White President"
''The Atlantic.'' October 2017.
"I'm Not Black, I'm Kanye"
''The Atlantic.'' May 2018.

Fiction

* ''

''. One World. September 24, 2019. .

Short fiction

"Conduction"
''

''. June 3, 2019.

Multimedia

* with Richard Harrington,

Nelson George Nelson George (born September 1, 1957) is an American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Biography George attended St. John's Universit ...

, and

Kojo Nnamdi Rex Orville Montague Paul (born January 8, 1945), better known as Kojo Nnamdi ( ), is a Guyanese-born American radio journalist based in Washington, D. C. He is the host of ''The Kojo Nnamdi Show'' and ''The Politics Hour'' on WAMU, and hosted ...

. ''Hip Hop''. Washington, D.C.: WAMU, American University, 1999. Audio conversation recorded January 29, 1999, at WAMU-FM, Washington, D.C. * with

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

"Ta-Nehisi Coates"
''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

''. June 16, 2014. * with

Vox Conversations: Should America offer reparations for slavery?
'' Vox''. July 18, 2014. * ''The Case for Reparations''. Middlebury, Vt.: Middlebury College, 2015. Video of lecture delivered at Middlebury College on March 4, 2015. * with

Amy Goodman Amy Goodman (born April 13, 1957) is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author. Her investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement, Morocco's occupation ...

"Between the World and Me: Ta-Nehisi Coates Extended Interview on Being Black in America"
''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...

''. July 22, 2015. * with

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...

. "Exclusive – Ta-Nehisi Coates Extended Interview
"Pt. 1"
an
"Pt. 2"
''

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. July 23, 2015. * with Amy Goodman
Ta-Nehisi Coates: "Joe Biden Shouldn’t Be President"
''Democracy Now!''. June 20, 2019.

References

External links

*
Ta-Nehisi Coates
at ''

'' * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coates, Ta-Nehisi 1975 births Living people 21st-century American essayists African-American atheists African-American bloggers African-American comics creators African-American feminists African-American memoirists African-American non-fiction writers Afrofuturist writers American atheists American bloggers American comics creators American comics writers American feminists American male bloggers American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American memoirists American political writers Atheist feminists The Atlantic (magazine) people CUNY Graduate School of Journalism faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences George Polk Award recipients MacArthur Fellows Male feminists Marvel Comics writers Kirkus Prize winners National Book Award winners The New Yorker people Writers from Baltimore American reparationists African-American novelists Vanity Fair (magazine) people Culture of Baltimore Howard University alumni Howard University faculty