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.

More On Jesse Helms

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Jul 10 2008, 8:09 AM ET Comment

You know me, I look for the soft spot in everybody. So in the interest of fairness, I present this article sent to me by one of my readers. It basically lays out Helms surprisingly sympathetic thoughts on a proto-Affirmative Action plan. With guys like Helms, you always wonder whether their bigotry came from the heart, or whether it was a tool for whipping up votes. That Moseley-Braun episode, as well as the anti-gay stuff, makes me think a lot of it came from the heart. Not that race-baiting is any better.



Presented by

More at The Atlantic

Why Did Zynga's Stock Drop After Facebook Went Public? Why Did Zynga Tank After Facebook Went Public?
Go Small: Why Washington Must Give Up the Illusion of a Grand Bargain Why Washington Must Give Up the Illusion of a Grand Bargain
Do Cell Phones Belong in the Classroom? Do Cell Phones Belong in the Classroom?
Video of the Day: Cory Booker Out-Obamas President Obama Cory Booker Echoes Obama While Attacking Him
The End of Soda? The End of Soda?

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
View All Correspondents

The Biggest Story in Photos

A Ring of Fire: The 2012 Annular Eclipse

May 21, 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