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This is FRESH AIR.
I am Terry Gross.
My guest, Ta Nehisi Coates, is best known for his book between the world and me, which was written in the form of a letter to his 15 year old son about what it means to be a black teenager and a black man in America.
It won a 2015 National Book award.
His Atlantic magazine cover story, the Case for reparations, sparked a national conversation about the historical ways in which black people were denied opportunities to create generational wealth that have led to continuing financial and educational inequality.
His new book, the Message, is about what he learned about race and identity.
Visiting three different places in Senegal, he thought about his ancestors and visited the fort on the island of Goree, the final stop for some captured people before being forced onto a ship, taking them to enslavement in America.
In South Carolina, he met with a high school teacher who was prevented from teaching his book, between the world and me because it made some students feel uncomfortable and ashamed to be white in Israel and the occupied territories.
He reflected on how victims can become victimizers.
The message is written in the form of a letter to his students at his alma mater, Howard University, where he's now the sterling Brown endowed chair in the english department.
His new book is also about teaching and writing.
Dana Hassi Coates, welcome back to Fresh Air.
I want to start with your trip to Africa, to Senegal.