Open Minds Book Series 25 - 26: The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

In The Message, Ta-Nehisi Coates travels to locations around the world and describes his experiences with different people and cultures. Throughout the book, Coates recalls his own life experiences and tries to frame each of his new experiences with past events. The book starts with a chapter that is written almost as a long-form letter to the students in Coates’s past writing classes at Howard University. In this chapter, Coates describes his early fascination with writing, ranging from poetry and song lyrics to a specific article he read in a magazine that has stuck with him ever since.

Theme 1: The Need for Thought Provoking Work

• Coates believes that a well written book should be thought provoking and create a dialogue. 
• Writers should strive to make their readers think about a topic from a different perspective. 

Theme 2: Systematic Control of Knowledge Leads to a Lack of Knowledge 

• Coates discusses throughout the book various systems in the US that attempt to control the dialogue which hurts the growth of knowledge.
• This includes the K-12 education system, higher education, and even private education. 

Theme 3: Justification of Oppression Throughout History

• Many oppressors throughout history justify their actions and behaviors via law and religion.
• Stereotypes are often used to justify the actions made by oppressors as well. 

Theme 4: Apartheid in African History and Israeli History 

• Coates travels through Israel and talks to various groups in the area. 
• The ongoing struggles of the Palestinian people mirror the struggles of the African people during the Apartheid (1948-1994). 

Sparknotes. (n.d.). The message full book summary and analysis. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-message/summary-and-analysis/.

Sparknotes. (n.d.). The message main ideas. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-message/main-ideas/.