The Message

Thought provoking book. I especially appreciated the final section on Palestine, both for the honest accounting of the genocide and his own personal growth of once invoking Israel in his case for reparations for Black Americans. It is a bit surreal reading it, though, when he references the Trump admin as something done and to be corrected. I hope Coates revisits these places (Palestine notwithstanding) now that there is a second admin and foreign relations are tanking.

I was blown away by this book. The depth of his thinking about race has layers and nuance. He speaks about several cultures and how the complexities of oppression impact those communities. His language is so rich. There is a reason his works have received so many accolades.

In The Message, Ta-Nehisi Coates delivers a searing narrative that brings forward perspectives rarely acknowledged, let alone amplified, in Western media. These are not just the voices that history has overlooked—they are the lives that have been systematically erased. Coates crafts a profoundly empathetic portrayal of regular people caught in the crossfire of political ambition and capitalist greed, transforming them from faceless statistics into deeply human stories that resonate with pain, hope, and resilience. What makes The Message so extraordinary is its insistence on centering the ordinary. Coates resists the grand narratives of heroism and villainy often used to simplify complex conflicts, choosing instead to highlight the unvarnished humanity of those who become collateral in destructive games of power. Through this lens, the book dismantles the reader's detachment, forcing us to reckon with the cost of systems we might unknowingly perpetuate. It’s a sobering, heart-wrenching, and necessary call to action that leaves an indelible mark.

what a thought-provoking, important read. his commentary on all areas addressed is both humbling and refreshing and as always he's a fantastic writer. still digesting everything i just read.

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “The Message” is an exploration of, indictment of, and challenge to the powers that be; specifically in how they have distorted the literal message history has tried to teach us. Coates starts off by establishing that to communicate a history or idea is to virtue-signal, and virtue-signaling is to set a target on your back for those in power to aim at. “The Message” is loud and clear on this premise. Coates challenges us to be brave enough to wear that target because the fight is just. The proof of the righteousness of that cause is laid out in his essays from one to the next. From Jim Crow South to the pervasive anti-intellectualism in current times to “democracies” far away that specialize in suppression. It is particularly disturbing when the oppressed turn into oppressors. Coates uses these connections to show that the language of evil is effective at blinding us to “The Message” of truth. That any reality built on the subjugation, oppression, and manipulation of any part of humanity is a crime against all of it and a non-starter in any intellectual or moral debate. Conversely, Coates explores how the written word, when used for good, can frame a truer picture of reality, invoke critical thinking, and set us free. Free minds are better at spotting intellectual dishonesty, moral inconsistencies, and the mental gymnastics employed by those who seek to control. The perverted word and history starts to resemble a grotesque simulation of reality as to make you want to lose all hope. The universality of the effort to control history becomes apparent and underscores the banality of evil that Hannah Arendt expounded on. Ta-Nehisi Coates is the James Baldwin of our time. Unapologetic in his truth-telling and uncompromising in his appeal to humanity. His essays extol the promise of humanity and the perpetual atrocities that suppress that bright future. There is a resonant power in his gift for painting experience with language, shaping argument with metaphors and facts, while also lacing in hope where you least expect it. “The Message” may be his magnum opus. Warning, this may radicalize you. But that would be the point.