Summary of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me

As society has experienced the recent deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner through media coverage, it has begun a dialogue regarding the treatment of young men of color and the attitude of law enforcement and lawmakers in regards to the safety and security of the urban black population. Between the World and Me is a letter Ta-Nehisi Coates writes to his teenage son, one that describes the tragedy and truth of the black experience and focuses on what it means to be a child and parent in the black community and how lives are impacted by the inherent racism and societally engrained perspective held by those in power.