Place in Society

               A constant in the book Between the World and Me is the author’s fear for his personal safety and that of his son. Ta-Nehisi Coates is subjected to constant fear of death, imprisonment, and the fear that his very body will be taken from him. Implicated in this fear is how he and others view his place in society. He describes a cycle between fear and his place in society; the actions of others make him feel insignificant or objectified, which causes fear, and his fear reinforces his feeling that he is cut off from privileges and freedoms that others enjoy. This cycle makes Coates feel like his place in the world is predetermined to be defined by others.

           In his early years, Coates learned his place in society through an encounter with neighborhood boys at the 7-Eleven who were armed. These boys were threatening and powerful. Coates describes them as scowling and surging with rage, angry at the sense of fear and injustice they had already learned. They made Coates realize that he was surrounded by danger that could at any point lead to his death. The threat of violence was enough. The boy didn’t need to fire the gun to put Coates in his place: “He had let it be known how easily I could be selected”(19). Coates learned that his safety was subject to the decisions of others who had more power than he did.  As a black man, Coates’ is between a rock and a hard place. He could not be violent, because he would get in trouble, but he could not be non-violent, because he would be vulnerable to a greater risk of bodily harm. There was no out for him. Society gave him a very narrow path to follow because of the color of his skin.  

         Society is concerned with a person’s race. “The two great divisions of society are not the rich and the poor, but white and black, said the great South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun.” Coates explains that there needs to be people of lesser status to make others feel superior, and that for centuries it has been this way: “You and I, my son, are that “below”. That was true in 1776. It is true today”(105). The injustice of living in fear has been happening for years upon years. This fixed view of society is what many African American people are born into. Coates notices that white parents who push double strollers and take up entire sidewalks are fearless, and “as terror was communicated to our children, I saw mastery communicated to theirs”(89). The fear that Coates feels is passed down to generations that have to deal with it and its effects.

     Race isn’t the only thing that affects people’s place in society.  Other factors like poverty, education, and health have an impact on how someone is viewed by society, and whether they have power or have to live in fear.  The cycle Coates describes is highlighted in an article explaining how black mothers who are exposed to the police killings of unarmed black people are at a higher risk of giving birth to underweight or premature babies. According to the researcher, “So the fact that this effect is concentrated among police killings of unarmed black individuals tells me that the stress and the perception of injustice is the most plausible explanation of this”(statnews). Premature and low birth-weight babies are likely to have future health problems “including developmental delays and hearing problems. And a baby born with a low birth weight can have other complications, including trouble feeding or an increased risk of infection”(statnews). This article underscores the fact that factors of race and violence perpetuate the cycle of disadvantage and injustice. Babies born to black mothers exposed to unjustified and racially influenced killings are already at risk.  As Coates says to his son, “You are all we have, and you come to us endangered”(84). The place in society that some black mothers have, where they are personally exposed to violence, puts their children at risk from the beginning. The article continues to explain other factors that play a role, “Many factors, including socioeconomic status and access to health care, influence the divide between black infants and infants of other races”(statnews). 

       Coates tells his son “You have been cast into a race in which the wind is always at your face and the hounds are always at your heels.” (107). It seems like the issues of race, violence, health, safety, fear, and place in society are so complicated and interrelated.  Can there be a break in the cycle?