2020: Wow. I've been thinking about this series of essays non-stop ever since I started reading them. Coates' basic thesis is that we should have seen a Trump presidency coming. This is a hard pill to swallow, but an essential one (especially for well-meaning white liberal females, of which I am one).

Coates introduces each of the essays, placing them in the context in which they were written, from the perspective of someone who knows what happens after Obama's eighth year in power. The essays are powerful, personal, and persuasive, but none so much as the one that put Coates on the map, "The Case for Reparations". Luckily, you can read that for free online:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/

Essential reading for anyone who still is wondering how we, as a nation, could have elected someone as completely opposite from Obama as Trump, and especially essential so that we do not repeat the same mistakes in the future. Also, for anyone who doubts that racism is still pervasive and in full swing in our country.

"Implicit in the notion of code-switching is a belief in the illegitimacy of Blacks as Americans, as well as a disbelief in the ability of our white peers to understand us."

"Barack Obama delivered to black people the hoary message that in working twice as hard as white people, anything is possible. But Trump’s counter is persuasive—work half as hard as black people and even more is possible."