Between The World And Me is an earnest letter from African-American father to his young son. Ta-Nehisi Coates glimpses into the harsh American reality. He pens down incidents from his childhood, growing up as a black man in Baltimore. The impact of his father’s stringent behaviour and the hovering fear of black families of losing their children to the street. The racial violence, which continues till today, has been an ingrained part of the American system and its history. He also recalls the dominant influence of Havard University which opened gateways of thinking.

“I would not have you descend into your own dream. I would have you be a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world.”

Coates explains the crimes perpetrated on the blacks without any consequential action taken against the perpetrators. He continues to emphasise the implications on the black body leading to the loss of childhood very early on. There is no sugar coating here. This essay conveys raw anger and frustration in the face of injustice done at the hands of the law holders.