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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.

We are all House Negroes now

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Nov 19 2008, 4:00 PM ET Comment

Zawahiri needs to keep Malcolm's name out his mouth. But more to the point, fools need to retire words like "house Negro" and "Uncle Tom." Not because they're mean, but because so few black folks actually talk that way anymore. There are many ways of insulting your fellow blacks for all manner of offenses. It's an insult to any black person whose ever played the dozens to have these weak cliched terms out there. I know we can do better than "House Negro." Personally I prefer, "Sucka Nigga," but hey that's just me. Also, in terms of other people, I've always loved "self-loathing Jew." Whenever I hear term I understand what it must feel like to be white and want to call yourself a nigger. I mean it's so poetic and grand--not fool, not idiot, not chump but "self-loathing Jew." Awesome.


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