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The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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Katerina Allmendinger
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On "The Message"

"Ta-Nehisi Coates, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Between the World and Me, journeys to three resonant sites of conflict to explore how the stories we tell—and the ones we don’t—shape our realities.

Coates originally set out to write a book about writing, in the tradition of Orwell’s classic “Politics and the English Language,” but found himself grappling with deeper questions about how our stories—our reporting and imaginative narratives and mythmaking—expose and distort our realities." (Read more from the author at ta-nehisicoates.com)

Resources for The Message Book Club

Join the Center for Humanities & the Arts (CHA) and co-sponsors for thought-provoking discussions on Coates’ latest work! Sign up to attend discussion groups and learn more.

The resources shared in this guide are centered around the theme of storytelling woven throughout The Message and offer background information on the historical and contemporary contexts in which Coates writes. On this page, you'll find books, essays, films, podcasts, oral histories, news and more spanning all chapters. On each chapter page, you'll find a more detailed dive into the topics. For a list of resources from Coates himself, see his Notes and References for The Message. 

Select Resources

Search Strategies for Finding News

Understanding and Evaluating News

Identifying Misinformation from University of Louisville Libraries (2:37 minute video)

Poster on how to spot fake news. 8 tips are shared with red icons to represent each.