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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.

A question which only Big L could answer

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Aug 29 2008, 1:05 AM ET Comment

Here's an interesting one:

Can you son a woman? I just need to get the details straight for future use around the water cooler.
Hmm, I actually don't think you can. It just doesn't sound right--something abusive about it. You can put a woman "on blast" though, as in, Keith Olbermann just put Anne Coulter on blast. That probably is more in line with the laws of Ebonics, no?


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