Between the World and Me

Use these activities to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity. 

ACTIVITY: Documenting the life of Black bodies in America

The purpose of this activity is to look at the ongoing problem of violence against Black bodies in America as a particular tragedy for Black Americans. The students should be presented with a recent case of a Black person who was unjustly killed by police or be encouraged to do their own research (the “Say Their Names” project at www.sayevery.name may be helpful) to find an individual case. They should then focus only on the details of the victim’s life, not their death, noting the ways the media reports on such cases. What details are ignored or downplayed? What were students unable to find that they wanted to know? How does this individual loss reflect the larger problems Coates is describing in Between the World and Me?

Teaching Suggestion: It will be important to foreground some of the issues at hand before students begin this assignment. Instructors should also be sensitive in respecting students’ exposure to images or videos of violence against Black bodies, as it can have a dehumanizing or traumatizing effect.