I'm the descendant of enslaved black people in this country. You could've been born in 1820 if you were black and looked back to your ancestors and saw nothing but slaves all the way back to 1619. Look forward another 50 or 60 years and saw nothing but slaves.
Tags: look, black, people, you

Other Quotes by "Ta-Nehisi Coates"

My job is to look out on that world that I write about and be as honest as I possibly can about that world. If that's optimistic and uplifting, OK. If it's not, OK.
Tags: about, job, look, world
Black people are pledging their fealty to the state, and yet they aren't getting the same return. This is theft. It's systemized.
Tags: return, same, black, people
'White America' is a syndicate arrayed to protect its exclusive power to dominate and control our bodies.
Tags: control, america, white, power
White supremacy is a very, very popular and trenchant belief in this country's history and heritage.
Tags: heritage, country, white, history
In comics, you have to imagine what happens. I really loved it; I loved collecting. I loved following the adventures and figuring out what was going to happen next. I was a huge X-Men fan; I was a huge Spider-Man fan, and, to large degree, I remain one. It's literature for me; it's art.
Tags: loved, you, me, art
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