A Letter to His Sons – How Ta-Nehisi Coates Speaks to Everyone

In the article entitled “Letter to my Son” The author Ta-Nehisi Coates’utilizes a particularly ingenious method to communicate the harsh realities of the black body in the United States: the incorporation of a dual audience. At many points throughout the text, I was unable to recognize whether he was writing with the express purpose of a larger audience or if that segment was directed specifically to his son. It is definitely a combination of both, but it creates an interesting dynamic for the reader; we are unsure whether we are the target of his words or if we are merely intruders in a difficult conversation that black men across America have with their children on a daily basis. 

Coates’ insistence on teaching his son about the harsh realities of the world makes Coates’ own words far more accessible to everyone else. In order to be effective rhetoric for a fifteen-year-old boy, Coates’ speech is simple but powerful. For example, when detailing just how difficult the lives of black men growing up in America is to his son, Coates uses the words “Racism dislodges brains, blocks airways, extracts organs, cracks bones, breaks teeth. You must never look away from this”(Coates 84). This was a highly effective demonstration of Coates’ dual audience because he is vividly portraying both the current and historical implications of racism to both his son and the wider audience. Writing a piece that is hyper-personal charges all of Coates’ words with lived experience. He doesn’t need to make his words overly flowery or complex because he has vivid pictures from years of living in this world as a black man. It makes his piece very simple to connect with and be touched/intrigued by. 

However, while I believe that his piece is accessible to a general audience, the heavy use of a dual audience makes his central point incredibly nuanced. I have concluded that much like his use of two audiences, he also intends separate takeaways, one for his son and one for a wider audience. The first purpose is an attempt to educate his son and to continue to “be a conscious citizen in this terrible and beautiful world”(Coates 91) The second larger purpose is a call to action for those reading it. To understand the horrific history that many people are still living out to this day. Being a black man in the United States is difficult and throughout the text, Coates communicates that idea in the most accessible and brutal way.