“My mother and father were always pushing me away from secondhand answers—even the answers they themselves believed. I don’t know that I have ever found any satisfactory answers of my own. But every time I ask it, the question is refined. That is the best of what the old heads meant when they spoke of being “politically conscious”—as much a series of actions as a state of being, a constant questioning, questioning as ritual, questioning as exploration rather than the search for certainty.”

American author, journalist, and activist

Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates is an American author, journalist, and activist. He became widely read while serving as a national correspondent at The Atlantic, where his reporting and essays focused on cultural, social, and political questions, especially those involving African Americans and white supremacy. His work is closely associated with progressive politics and with writing that examines race, power, and public life in the United States. He is known for addressing these subjects with clarity and force, and his name remains strongly linked to contemporary commentary on American society.