Many people and organizations in Kalamazoo County have been working on racial disparities for decades, says Community Foundation President and CEO Carrie Pickett-Erway. A Nov. 3 appearance by
Ta-Nehisi Coates is intended to add momentum to the conversations and work that is ongoing.
“Mr. Coates delivers a powerful historical perspective of the impact that systemic racial discrimination has had on our country,” says Pickett-Erway.
He is the author of the current best-seller "Between the World and Me," a finalist for the National Book Award. He is a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues. In 2014 he authored the cover story for The Atlantic, “The Case for Reparations,” and the October 2015 issue of the magazine features his cover story, “The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration.”
He is also Journalist-in-Residence at the School of Journalism at City University of New York. His 2008 memoir, "The Beautiful Struggle," described his childhood in Baltimore, and his recently released "Between the World and Me" takes the form of a letter to his 15-year-old son about growing up as a black man in America.
According to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which named him a 2015 recipient of one of its "genius' grant says Coates “is emerging as a leading interpreter of American concerns to a new generation of media-savvy audiences and having a profound impact on the discussion of race and racism in this country.” (See a video of him here.)
"It is the Community Foundation’s hope that, upon hearing his message, people will reflect, and join in these important conversations," says Pickett-Erway. "We cannot be the community we believe we are until discrimination no longer exists and every person has the opportunity to reach full potential."
Sponsored by PNC Bank, his talk also is a part of WMU University Center for the Humanities’ 2015-2016 speaker series, "Reimagining Communities."
Coates will appear at 8 p.m. Nov. 3 at Miller Auditorium on Western Michigan University’s campus. The event is free and open to the public; however, registrations are required at www.kalfound.org or by calling 269-381-4416. Parking also will be free at the Miller Auditorium ramp.
Source: Kalamazoo Community Foundation
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