Book: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

AFRAS 260 Essay 2 -Baldwin and Coates “The Black Body”

Make sure to use an outside source other then the book and please have the website sources be on the 7th page and have the whole essay be 6 pages long. Can you also put a creative title?

Background/Context:Our previous two texts used fictional, art narratives to convey the state of “Blackness” or what it means to be Black in the US (particularly for Black women). Baldwin and Coates use the literary art form of letter writing to convey similar ideologies (collection of ideas) on “Blackness.”

Prompt: How do the approaches vary and what is openly unveiled through Baldwin’s and Coates’ approaches (the letter), that is “lost” in the fictional art narrative approaches from our first two texts? Explain how and why this occurs along with how the “letter” fills gaps on the subject of Blackness that the fictional art narrative does not. Consider if one approach is stronger than the other, if so, explain why? Should they co-exist? Can one exist without the other?

NOTE:This prompt requires you to take a close look at the writing…how the authors choose to convey ideas and how the modality and/or approach highlights a multitude of themes related to the Black Body. Be sure to take language directly from the text to support your stance/claims.