The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

This was one of the last books I finished in 2024. I listened to it on audio (Libro.Fm) as I was angry and upset about Palestine again. Ta-Nehisi Coates always gets to me. Every time. He is a writer who fundamentally understands the necessity of writing, of words. In The Message, he talks about his travels to South Carolina, Senegal, and Palestine. He talks about the politics of words as book bands become an epidemic. He connects the importance of all this in the face of racism, injustice, and apartheid. Coates’s small volume packs a punch—his detailed accounts of the Palestinian people, their existence, and Israel’s desire for their eradication is jolting as well as it is informative.

Coates has a way of piecing together what many of us do not care to see. His observations are more than keen, they are intelligent and important. This is not a book to pick a fight with. It’s a book with undeniable facts.

As a writer, he reminds me that I have a responsibility. The stories I tell MATTER. How they are told and by whom, makes all the difference between freedom and suppression. In all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book because of what it carries in such a short volume. Every time I hear his words (or read them) they give me chills.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone. The message must be heard.