Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Before reading this collection (Volume 6 #1-4, as well as the original Fantastic Four comic where Black Panther is introduced- but not the one where he gives his backstory) I had no previous knowledge about Black Panther. I haven't even seen the movie yet. So I was pretty confused for the first half (#1-2) but by the end, I understood the basic plot and characters which is this: the current Black Panther and ancestor of previous Black Panthers, aka T'Challa, is the king of Wakanda. For reasons that remain unclear to me, he's been out of town for a while and his country is now being ripped apart by civil war. The Queen mother and T'Challa's stepmother Ramonda wants him to get it together and reunite the country and win the people over. There are at least two or three factions that oppose the royalty. One group is the all-female Dora Milaje, led by Aneka and Ayo who want to implement democracy. (Woo!) Another is a terrorist group "The People" that possibly also want to institute democracy? But this is unclear. And a third group seems to be a bunch of warlord opportunists.

I especially love the characters Aneka, Ayo, and a philosophy professor Changamire. The illustrations are beautiful, and I particularly like the subtle science fiction component- though I might prefer if it were less subtle.

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We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 54of 5 stars

This book is a collection of 8 previously published essays by Coates. I found the essay about Bill Cosby’s negative activism and the essay about Michelle Obama underwhelming and I wish they weren’t included in the book, or at least not at the beginning of the book. However, the other 6 essays are so phenomenal that even though I’d read some before I found myself wanting to scream in agreement. Possibly the 2017 context of these essays makes them even more powerful- or rather 2017 makes me more open to how correct and powerful the essays have always been.

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Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent memoir (in the form of a letter to the author's son). Strongly recommend every American read this as soon as possible. Coates writes prose as if it is poetry. He clearly and simply traces the relationship between American economics, slavery, the Civil War, the modern South, police brutality, city projects, and the uphill battle of those trying to move away from the history. He manages to pack a lot into a very short book. Between his beautiful writing and his economy of words, I wasn't able to put the book down until I was finished.

It's particularly interesting reading this book right now, when the current presidential election is mired in these very issues. The thing that's different now, is that the racist-sexist forces in our country have failed to hide their intentions this time. With their true intentions on display a majority of the "other" seem to have banded together: Women, black people, Hispanic people, GLBT, and others voting together en masse against the typical oppressors. As Gloria Steinem says racism and sexism are closely related and intertwined. It keeps the maximum number oppressed and also helps keep everyone divided. It's not a conspiracy, it's simply that authoritarians want to keep as much power for themselves and away from as many others as possible, so everyone is "lesser." One thing that Coates stresses though is that even if a majority are moving away from racist-sexist attitudes, it takes only one act of state-sanctioned terrorism by the police to take away all security. And sadly there have been many more than one.

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Black Panther #4 by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Black Panther #4 by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, things seem to make sense now, and there seem to be three distinct factions: 1) The royalty, T'Challa, Ramonda, Shuri, 2) "The People," Tetu and Zenzi, 3) The Dora Milaje, Aneka and Ayo. I am still Team Aneka-Ayo. Also glad that now I know the Professor's name is Changamire.

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Black Panther #3 by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Black Panther #3 by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The only thing that has become clear is that there are more than 2 sides in this civil war, and while it seems safe to assume the feminist Aneka and Ayo are “good guys,” all of the other sides, including the Black Panther himself, are ambiguous.

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Black Panther #2 by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Black Panther #2 by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Still don’t completely understand what’s going on, but I am completely love with Aneka, Ayo, and the political philosophy professor (Baba? Does Baba just mean grandfather?).

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Black Panther #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Black Panther #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first issue is just a few pages long (I borrowed the combined issues 1-4) and introduces us to the Black Panther and 4 female characters and one other male but doesn’t give us a lot of clarity yet on what’s going on except that Wakanda is in a state of anarchy and needs to be reunited.

I’ve never read a superhero comic before but I love Coates so I’m excited about this series.

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