Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of the most important voices in America today. He made the case for reparations last summer when he argued that it's time for America to confront the impact of slavery, Jim Crow, and other discriminatory policies that have consistently denied African Americans opportunities afforded other Americans. He says until we admit to the debts accrued from years of racism, we can never be whole.
John spoke with Ta-Nehisi Coates earlier this year at Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford while Coates was in town to receive the 2015 Stowe Prize for writing to advance social justice. He has since been awarded a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant." His new book Between the World and Me was shortlisted for a National Book Award.
GUEST:
- Ta-Nehisi Coates - National correspondent for The Atlantic and author of Between the World and Me
John Dankosky, Lydia Brown, Chion Wolf and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show, which originally aired on June 8, 2015.