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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.

I need to emphasize this

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Jan 8 2009, 3:38 PM ET Comment

Was reading through the comments below and I wanted to say this again, My position on scapegoating and prop 8, in no way means that those of us in the black community don't have a serious homophobia problem that we need to confront. Put in the most brutal and coldest terms, too many of us dying for us to not take up this fight. One can believe that media got it wrong on Prop 8 and still believe that we've got work to do. Religion explains a lot. History explains a lot. Education explains a lot. But nothing excuses it. We've got work to do. Having been wronged, doesn't automatically make you right. We must learn to walk and chew gum this year.


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