Cornel West and Cedric Johnson on Ta-Nehisi Coates

FromDr. Cornel West - In Defense of James Baldwin: Coates is a clever wordsmith with journalistic talent who avoids any critique of the Black president in power. Baldwin’s painful self-examination led to collective action and a focus on social movements. He reveled in the examples of Medgar, Martin, Malcolm, Fannie LouHamerand Angela Davis. Coates’s fear-driven self-absorption leads to