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Month: September 2015
Ta-Nahesi Coates’ Between the World and Me Talk
Ta-Nehesi Coates speaks at Ohio State 11/10
This picture of one of my favorite writers, Ta-Nehesi Coates. He is a regular contributor the The Atlantic, and wrote “Between the World and Me.” Mr. Coates is one of the leading commentators on race in America. His visit was in the midst of the Black Lives Matter Movement, and right around the time that the events involving ConcernedStudent1950 and the resignation of the university president at Mizzou. Just days before, students at Ohio State protested racism present here on our campus. This event was focused on his book “Between the World and Me,” which is written as a letter to Mr. Coates’ son. He spoke about excerpts from the book, about his time at Howard University, and about police brutality, mass incarceration, and structural racism. A good friend of mine was able to ask him a question, and left with some book suggestions for learning more about the black experience in America. This event opened my eyes to a lot of things, and inspired me to want to read Mr. Coates’ book. Seeing such an esteemed writer and hearing his career path and research inspired me in my own passion for writing, and hearing him speak about things that I had very little knowledge about left me shocked and yearning to learn more. I found a quote from “Between the World and Me,” that summed up what I gleaned from this event:
“But all our phrasing—race relations, racial chasm, racial justice, racial profiling, white privilege, even white supremacy—serves to obscure that racism is a visceral experience, that it dislodges brains, blocks airways, rips muscle, extracts organs, cracks bones, breaks teeth. You must never look away from this. You must always remember that the sociology, the history, the economics, the graphs, the charts, the regressions all land, with great violence, upon the body.”
― Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me
Thank you Mr. Coates for opening my eyes.
About Me
Here is me posing in front Arawali mountains in Rajasthan, during my study abroad trip with Scholars to India last May
I am a second year pursuing a BA in Political Science with a focus in International Relations, and a BA in Strategic Communication with a minor in Arabic Language and Culture. I like to joke that I have a double major and a minor because I am indecisive, but it is in reality because I am intensely curious and there is nothing that I love more than learning. Gender equality, income inequality, in-group out-group dynamics, globalization, and Middle Eastern politics are my topics of choice, but I enjoy learning about a variety of issues. Ohio State has offered me a variety of mediums with which to pursue these interests and others, both through course work and extracurricular involvement. Politics of the Developing World, Modern Arab Feminist Literature in Translation, and Strategies of War and Peace have been my favorite classes so far. I am a small group facilitator for a group of international students through the English Conversation Program, a member of the Undergraduate Student Government, a Grant Reader for the Central Ohio Women’s Fund, a Legislative Page at the Ohio Senate, and an associate editor for the Algerian, a publication of politically and internationally focused opinion pieces. My passion is traveling and my greatest academic strength is writing, so I hope to include these in my future career path. Currently I am hoping to have a career in journalism, foreign service, or the non-profit sector, but as long as I am able to learn, travel, and be creative, I will find my career fulfilling.