When I see the Confederate flag, I see the attempt to raise an empire in slavery. It really, really is that simple.… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
From last century's 'The Birth of a Nation' to this century's 'Gods and Generals,' Hollywood has likely done more than any other… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
“For realists, the true story of the Civil War illuminates the problem of ostensibly sober-minded compromise with powerful, and intractable, evil.” — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
Germany has spent the decades since World War II in national penance for Nazi crimes. America spent the decades after the Civil… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
For nearly a century and a half, this country deluded itself into thinking that its greatest calamity, the Civil War, had nothing… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
“The belief that the Civil War wasn’t for us was the result of the country’s long search for a narrative that could… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
“It is to point out that at this late hour, the totems of the empire of slavery—chief among them, its flag—still enjoy… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
“For realists, the true story of the Civil War illuminates the problem of ostensibly sober-minded compromise with powerful, and intractable, evil. For… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
The casualties in the Civil War amount to more than all other wars - all other American wars combined. More people died… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
“Five years later, 750,000 Americans were dead. But the fact that such carnage had been wreaked for a cause that Ulysses S.… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
Abraham Lincoln is singular. Abraham Lincoln, before he was killed, stood up and, you know, for the first time from any sitting… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
“For that particular community, for my community, the message has long been clear: The Civil War is a story for white people—acted… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
“And now the lies of the Civil War and the lies of these post-racial years began to resonate with each other, and… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
“The fear had precedent. Toward the end of the Civil War, having witnessed the effectiveness of the Union's 'colored troops,' a flailing… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
“When it comes to the Civil War, all of our popular understanding, our popular history and culture, our great films, the subtext… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share Image
“To Trump whiteness is neither notional nor symbolic but is the very core of his power. In this, Trump is not singular. But whereas… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
“The focus on one sector of Trump voters—the white working class—is puzzling, given the breadth of his white coalition. Indeed, there is a kind… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from hosts and myths. — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
What I am telling you is that you do not need to know to love, and it is right that you feel it all… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
I think 'Dear White People,' the show, is a tremendous artistic achievement. It's always hinting that there is something beyond the pleading and wokeness,… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
[Winning the White House was an achievement], but as an African-American, [Barack Obama], I think the symbolism is in how he conducted himself. The… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
What sets black people apart is not some deficit in personal responsibility. It's the weight on our shoulders. That is what's actually different. We… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
Like a lot of people, I'm very, very concerned about Senator Clinton's record. I'm very, very concerned about where her positions were in the… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
“I drove away, as always, thinking of you. I do not believe that we can stop them, Samori, because they must ultimately stop themselves.… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
What I’m talking about is more than recompense for past injustices—more than a handout, a payoff, hush money, or a reluctant bribe. What I’m… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
The mainstream sort of presentation of the civil rights movement was not something that I directly inherited. — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
[Grew up in Hawaii] that gave [Barack Obama] a kind of optimism, an ability to see things, you know, and frankly, an ability to… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
“I sensed the schools were hiding something, drugging us with false morality so that we would not see, so that we did not ask:… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
You don't make a case for reparations thinking, 'Oh yeah, people are gonna love this.' I didn't see that coming. — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
“And I know that there are black boys and black girls out there lost in a Bermuda triangle of the mind or stranded in… — Ta-Nehisi Coates Copy Share
