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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.

Photos For College Apps

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Nov 23 2009, 11:00 AM ET Comment

I don't want to side-track the Morehouse thread with this, but I want to take this a little further. It was always rumored that HBCUs, back in the day, asked for photos to enforce their brown bag policy. I have no idea as to the truth of that, but it's the sort of thing that's said in discussion about classism and intra-racism. A commenter in the Morehouse thread, says that Stanford required a photo when he applied years ago

These leads to a couple of other questions. How many of you had to submit photos for college apps and in what year? I applied to Howard in 93, and a photo wasn't part of the application. Not sure if it ever was. I could see the Ivies requiring it in like pre-1960s, and I guess the same for black schools.


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