Between the World and Me and New Age Protest

摘要

Ta-Nehisi Coates writes Between the World and Me, a memoir written in the form of a letter to his fifteen-year-old son in the wake of 21st-century social unrest. Fifty-two years after The Fire Next Time , Coates adopted Baldwin's rhetoric to recount his own experiences, plagued with fear, police brutality, and self-discovery. Coates' book has been reviewed by leading civil rights activists and authors, Michelle Alexander, Cornel West, Michael Eric Dyson, and countless others. The reviews challenge Coates' ability to either mobilize a social justice movement or to present a more positive perception of social, economic, and civic development since the civil rights movement and black power era. While critics believe that Coates has failed in presenting new information, he does provide a platform for a generation unable to visualize a complete picture of African American history. Close analysis of Coates and Baldwin will show not only that they utilize similar rhetorical language to convey a message of hope, but that their styles cater to their specific eras, which helps bridge the disconnect between civil rights activists and millennials.