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Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Ta-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues for TheAtlantic.com and the magazine. He is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle. More

Born in 1975, the product of two beautiful parents. Raised in West Baltimore—not quite The Wire, but sometimes ill all the same. Studied at the Mecca for some years in the mid-’90s. Emerged with a purpose, if not a degree. Slowly migrated up the East Coast with a baby and my beloved, until I reached the shores of Harlem. Wrote some stuff along the way.
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Obama Corners The Negro Market

By Ta-Nehisi Coates

Jan 21 2008, 2:05 PM ET Comment

Well we knew this was coming. Notice how the dumb-ass, ill-thought, unlettered (that's a Christopher Hitchens word) fulminations about Barack's lack of blackness have quietly receded to the back, now that he is polling at 60 percent in the black community. I really can't say I'm shocked. More surprising is the Kenyan boy wonder's inability to bring the Southern white folks into the conversation. Yeah I know, I'm an optimist. Forgive me. Next go round, I'll be more cynical.



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