Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Celebrated Journalist and Author

Portrait of journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a celebrated essayist, journalist, and author whose unique and perceptive works center on race in the United States. His 2015 publication, Between the World and Me, is a book that doubles as a 160-page letter to his son, Samori. It is an eloquent embodiment of the dreaded conversation black American men have with their sons—about the harsh reality of being a black man in America—but it is drawn from Ta-Nehisi’s narrative and delivered with historical context. The book won the National Book Award for nonfiction the year it was released.

Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 30, 1975. His father, William Paul Coates, was once a member of the Black Panther Party. He also fought in the Vietnam War and became a librarian and publisher, founding Black Classic Press, which republished out-of-print writings by black Americans. Ta-Nehisi’s mother, Cheryl Lynn Coates, was a teacher. William Coates—who went by his middle name, Paul—fathered other children with three other women. In an interview with NPR, Ta-Nehisi said of that time:

“On weekends ... there might be different combinations of kids. I didn’t consider it particularly unusual because, quite frankly, there were a lot of kids in the neighborhood who had a similar situation, except in most cases the father was not there.”

Image of a Mondawmin neighborhood crime scene. Original photo courtesy of Fox Baltimore | WBFF

Ta-Nehisi grew up in Mondawmin, a rough West Baltimore neighborhood with its share of negative influences. When Ta-Nehisi’s actions began to reflect those influences, his mother had him write essays. That discipline, together with the exposure to books derived from his father’s publishing venture, instilled a love of literature in Ta-Nehisi at a young age. That led him to pursue a literary career, and at age 17, Ta-Nehisi began writing poetry. He enrolled at Howard University in 1993 but left to start a journalism career without receiving a degree.

His first job was reporting for The Washington City Paper under editor David Carr. Between 2000 to 2007, he wrote for various publications: the Village Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, Mother Jones, Time, O, The Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and others. His career took a turn in 2008 when he became a blogger for The Atlantic magazine. His first piece, “This Is How We Lost to the White Man”—a penetration critique that admonished comedian Bill Cosby—was well-received and led to Ta-Nehisi landing a regular column. His following grew as he wrote more insightful pieces. Ta-Nehisi became both a senior editor and national correspondent for the magazine, wherein he contributed feature articles and maintained his popular blog.

During the decade he remained with The Atlantic, Ta-Nehisi published three successful books and won several awards for his journalism, including two National Magazine Awards, a MacArthur Genius Grant, and the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. In 2021, Ta-Nehisi joined Howard University’s faculty as the writer-in-residence in the College of Arts and Sciences. He will also hold the Sterling Brown Chair in the Department of English. In addition to teaching a creative writing class, Ta-Nehisi also plans to complete his bachelor's degree.

You may also be interested in: