"I have not spent my time studying the problem of race— race itself is just a restatement and retrenchment of the problem. You see this from time to time when some dullard— usually believing himself white— proposes that the way forward is a grand orgy of black and white, ending only when we are all beige and thus the same race. But a great number of black people already are beige. And the history of civilization is littered with dead races (Frankish, Italian, German, Irish) later abandoned because they no longer serve their purpose— the organization of people beneath, and beyond, the umbrella of rights."

Race Power

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About Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates is an American writer and journalist known for essays on race, history, and politics. His books include Between the World and Me and The Message.

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