BEST IN LIVING LEGENDS
TA-NEHISI COATES, 46, AUTHOR AND NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER
The Baltimore-born writer Ta-Nehisi Coates has spent the past few years shaping the stories of four mythic superheroes. Three are
Black, including one he invented. All grapple with entrenched power structures gripping their homelands.
Coates, 46, might not have superpowers, but he’s already a legend. Even before 2015, when he won the National
Book Award for Nonfiction and picked up a MacArthur Foundation fellowship (known as a “genius grant”), he was recognized as one of America’s premiere intellectuals.
The author’s parents modeled the art of asking fearless questions. His father, W. Paul Coates, is a publisher and former member of The Black Panther Party; his mother, Cheryl Lynn Coates, was a teacher.
Coates was in his mid-30s when he burst into the national consciousness writing for The Atlantic magazine. His 2012 cover story, “Fear of a Black President” and 2014 essay,
“The Case for Reparations,” established him as a relentless interrogator of America’s racist underpinnings.
Three acclaimed nonfiction books examined white supremacy and white privilege: “The Beautiful Struggle,” “Between the World and Me” and “We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy.”
Unsurprisingly, Coates’ strong opinions and willingness to express them have frequently been controversial.
Last month, “Between the World and Me” was among
414 books pulled from school library shelves in Texas. Educators feared these titles violated a new state law that prohibits teaching critical race theory, which holds that institutions such as the justice system can be inherently racist.
“It’s unfortunate, but I’m not surprised,” said Coates, who lives in New York. “What I’m saying runs counter to the standard American narrative, so some people think it shouldn’t be taught.”
Shortly after winning the National Book Award, Coates startled some fans by shifting gears to graphic novels. The self-described “comics nerd” just finished a six-year stint writing the “Black Panther” series and three years writing “Captain America” for Marvel.
In 2019, Coates published his first novel, “The Water Dancer.” His main character was enslaved on a Virginia plantation but discovered he has superpowers. Coates is writing a film adaptation for MGM; Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt have signed on as producers.
He’s also working on a screenplay tackling Superman’s origin story. In his telling, the Man of Steel will be Black.
Coates’ novels include nearly as much political commentary as his nonfiction. His mythic heroes face tyranny and rampant nationalism.
They occasionally wind up on the wrong side of the criminal justice system. Their superpowers are often a mixed blessing, and Coates’ heroes struggle with the responsibilities that accompany privilege.
The author, who says he “wants to give back” to the university that helped mold him, will return this summer to his alma mater, Howard University, to teach creative writing. Coates spent his undergraduate years in the university library, but left without completing his studies. He thinks that when he’s back on campus, he might finally finish his bachelor’s degree. His mother would like that.
“I never graduated,” he said, a hint of laughter in his voice. “I wonder if she’s over it by now.”