- “I knew that Prince was not killed by a single officer so much as he was murdered by his country and all the fears that have marked it from birth” (Coates 78). Why might Coates see the killing of Prince Jones in this way? Or, how does shifting the focus from the actions of a single officer to the US and a historical fear of Blacks alter the way we see police violence or killing? In responding to the question, draw a text-to-text connection with another part of Coates’ text.
This is another example of men not being able to be free in their own bodies. History has repeated itself over and over and continues to show our country’s true nature towards black lives. Him being murdered by our country is our own stereotypical fears we have made and allow to take control.
- “The galaxy belong to them [Whites on West Broadway], and as terror was communicated to our children, I saw mastery communicated to theirs” (Coates 89). What do you think Coates means by this distinction between communicating terror and communicating mastery? Support your response with evidence from the text.
To me this kind of sounded like slavery, white children being grown up to be masters while black children were raised in fear and obresed by the masters. Early on white children run around without a care in the world while young black children were taught to fear the streets and the people around them. The difference in the upcoming of these two different childhood experiences isn’t shocking based how society treats them.
- Offer ONE SIGNIFICANT PASSAGE you will be prepared to read and offer as a vehicle for class discussion. Quote the passage and write a few sentences explaining WHY you chose it and WHAT you’d like us to discuss in it.
Pg 87 “I could see no difference between the officer who killed Prince Jones and the police who died, or firefighters who died.”
- Read “Black and Blue,” an early Ta-Nehisi Coates (link and class handout) newspaper article that reports on Prince Georges County and police brutality. It is nearly 20 years old and written when Coates was just 25. In 2020, what does Coates’ reporting tell you? Why?
This article shows that we haven’t changed and that the only difference is we are starting to hear about these brutal acts. It honestly astonishes me that we are having this problem, I grew up in a small city in Vermont and I was taught that everyone should be equal and couldn’t even fathom that black people weren’t treated the same as I was when I found out. I understand that some people grow up in different ways but it still just blows my mind that these things happen to some of my friends and learning about what they have to deal with on a daily basis. Coates tells us this so we can see what has been happening to his people. Maybe by getting the point across we can actually do something because they can’t be alone. Hopefully our generation can be part of the change now that we are starting to stand up and take action against all this senseless violence.
