Annie Hicks

Pd.3
10/09/18
Summer Reading Rhetorical Analysis

“But race is the child of racism, not the father. And the process of naming ‘the people’ has never
been a matter of genealogy and physiognomy so much as one of hierarchy. Difference in hue and
hair is old. But the belief in the pre-eminence of hue and hair, the notion that these factors can
correctly organize a society and that they signify deeper attributes, which are indelible—this is
the new idea at the heart of these new people who have been brought up to hopelessly, tragically,
deceitfully, to believe that they are white” (Coates 7).

In a letter to his son titled Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates, an African

American journalist and writer, analyzes the evolution of his beliefs surrounding race and the

history of race in America. Through his narrative, Coates educates his son and other black youth

about how racism will affect them as they mature in the United States during a time of

heightened police brutality and racial stigma. Coates’ definition of racism is fundamental to the

purpose of the book because it argues that race is solely a phenomena created to establish

irrevocable power in a society, not as the byproduct of pre-existing discrimination, which is

commonly referenced throughout his narrative. Coates intellectually and critically explains that

historically, race was never about differences in skin color and ethnicity, but as a way for one

group to establish a constant power source, and he uses this concept to teach his son that his

black body is currently at the mercy of said power struggle.

Coates’ chronological organization with parallel timelines establishes the structure and

fault-finding tone that are present throughout the book. His argument that racism preceded race

is built with a historical anecdote that is later applied to modern circumstances, similarly to other

prevalent concepts he develops, such the treatment of “whiteness” in America and the police’s

disposition against people of color. When describing racism in the U.S., Coates begins with the

phrase, “the process of naming ‘the people’ has never been a matter of genealogy or

physiognomy,” to describe its origins as a hierarchical system rather than one of simple
 Annie Hicks
Pd.3
10/09/18
classification. Following this, he says, “the notion that these factors can correctly organize a

society and that they signify deeper attributes, which are indelible—this is the new idea,” to

indicate that the theme of power is still connected with race, rather than just throughout history.

This intellectual comparison of different time periods develops the reflective and critical tones of

the book, and effectively exemplifies the discrimination against black bodies that is present in

the past and future of America which Coates expects his son to experience as well. By describing

his life experiences and historical anecdotes, Ta-Nehisi Coates effectively identifies concepts

that will be prevalent throughout his son’s life with parallel timelines and a critical tone.