![\"Coates\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2017\/01\/Coates.jpeg?resize=300%2C233&ssl=1\")
Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of the most original and perceptive black voices today. He is a journalist, educator and last year he won a National Book Award for “Between the World and Me,”\u00a0his thoughtful and thought-provoking take on race in America.<\/p>\n
He will share his perspective on\u00a0race relations at a special event open to all alumni, students, faculty and staff and community members on Tuesday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Calihan Hall on the McNichols Campus.<\/p>\n
Coates’ “Between the World and Me” is written as an\u00a0open letter to his teenaged son. The National Book Foundation called it \u201ca brutally honest portrayal of the plight of the African-American male in this country. Incorporating history and personal memoir, Coates creates\u00a0an essential text for Americans\u00a0today. The book was named one of the 10 best books of the year by many\u00a0national newspapers and magazines.\u00a0He\u00a0is also the author of a memoir, “The Beautiful Struggle,” about growing up in Baltimore during the age of crack cocaine. Booklist<\/em> called it a \u201cbeautifully written, loving portrait of a strong father bringing his sons to manhood.\u201d<\/p>\n As a national correspondent for The Atlantic, where<\/em> he writes about culture, politics and social issues. His June 2014 feature on reparations won the prestigious George Polk Award for commentary and was described by New York<\/em> magazine as \u201cprobably the most discussed magazine piece of the Obama era.\u201d He has also received the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism and a MacArthur Fellowship, and last year was named one of Time<\/em> magazine\u2019s 100 Most Influential People.<\/p>\n