Skip Navigation
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.

Please No More Sisata Souljah Comparisons

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
May 1 2008, 3:45 PM ET Comment

It's popular for white commentators, for whom black people are merely theoretical, to wonder when Barack Obama will do something that will distance himself from black people. After "black America" is known kyrptonite to any successful endeavor. So here we have Richard Wolffe arguing that Wright represented Obama's Sista Souljah moment:

For a campaign that had little comment on Wright's media blitz on Monday, Obama's press conference was a complete reversal. Many pundits have wondered aloud why Barack Obama has not had a Sister Souljah moment in this campaign, evoking Bill Clinton's 1992 repudiation of the hip-hop star's inflammatory and racist comments. In Winston-Salem Obama went far beyond Clinton's criticism, disowning his former pastor—and running the risk of alienating a community on the South Side of Chicago that has been among his most ardent supporters.

Uhm no. No disrespect to my South Side brothers, but last time I checked, the "South Side of Chicago" didn't qualify as a national voting bloc. What Wolfe wants to say--but clearly has no evidence to prove--is that in dissing Wright, Obama showed his distance from black folks. Except that most black folks--and I bet most black folks on the South Side--think that Wright's performance on Monday was off the wall.

More to the point the "Sista Souljah moment" is the province of white folks who basically regard black people and the fight against racism as some sort of political tool to garner the votes of other more thuggish whites. There is a certain amoralism to all of this. In the minds of the MSM there's this idea that whites who, quite frankly, hold Obama to a higher standard because he's black are the real Americans, the beer swillers, gun-toters. This is when you see that the modern press does not exist to expose demagoguery but to be funnel for it.



Presented by

More at The Atlantic

The End of Soda? The End of Soda?
Eureka!: When a Blow to the Head Creates a Sudden Genius When a Blow to the Head Creates a Sudden Genius
'The Golden Age of Silicon Valley Is Over, and We're Dancing on its Grave' 'The Golden Age of Silicon Valley Is Over, and We're Dancing on its Grave'
The Middling Hilarity of 'The Dictator' Sacha Baron Moves to the Middle of the Pack With 'The Dictator'
The Intersection of Design and Technology The Intersection of Design and Technology

Join the Discussion

After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register.
blog comments powered by Disqus
Special Report
Capitals of the Connected World The Atlantic Capitals of the Connected World
Mapping the new global power structure—an Atlantic special report Read more ›

Just In

View All Correspondents

The Biggest Story in Photos

Scenes From Brazil

May 18, 2012

Subscribe Now

SAVE 59%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Facebook

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

Ta-Nehisi Coates
from the Magazine

Why Do So Few Blacks Study the Civil War?

Ta-Nehisi Coates is an Atlantic senior editor.

Fade to White

A filmmaker maps Austin’s shifting ethnic landscape.

The Legacy of Malcolm X

Why his vision lives on in Barack Obama