Ta-Nehisi Coates Time Quotations

People know things and have a remarkable capacity to act in their individual immediate interests all the time.

As an African-American, we stand on the shoulders of people who fought despite not seeing victories in their lifetime or even in their children's lifetime or even in their grandchildren's lifetime. So fatalism isn't really an option.

The two endorsements I'm most proud of come from Isabel Wilkerson and Toni Morrison. The latter is the greatest American fiction writer of our time, and the former is on her way to being the greatest American nonfiction writer of our time.

I think riots happen when communities are under pressure for long periods of time. That's not a mistake.