The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Coates, Ta-Nehisi. The Message. One World, 2024.

Ta-Nehisi Coates's The Message is a collection of four standalone essays. Each one possesses its own stylistic and formal rules and tackles its own subject matter. At the same time, the four essays have formal and tonal overlaps that inform one another. Coates uses the first-person singular, first-person plural, second-person, and first-person direct address points of view throughout the text. Additionally, he combines the past and present tenses and incorporates other writers' and thinkers' ideas into his own. For the sake of clarity, this guide primarily relies upon the present tense and a streamlined mode of explanation.

In Part 1, "Journalism Is Not a Luxury," Coates addresses his audience directly as he describes his experiences teaching at Howard University. He took time away from the school to travel. Since his return he has been reflecting on his time at Howard University. He recalls one class he taught that especially affected him. He related to his students' writing instincts and saw himself in them. Coates reflects on his lifelong love for language and storytelling. He avers that writing is a part of his identity. He goes on to consider how writing can create change. By the end of the essay, he holds that writing is a way to survive and to fight injustice.

In Part 2, "On Pharaohs," Coates reflects on his trip to Dakar. He had never been to Africa before and knew that he had put off going for some time. However, he was unsure why. While packing for his trip, his mom sent him a photo of a sketch she did of his dad that Coates had captioned as a boy. The sketch made him think about his childhood, his love for reading, and his regard for his own Blackness. When he got to Dakar, Coates felt an overwhelming sadness. He now tries to understand the origin of these inexplicable emotions. He remembers that he felt particularly weighty whenever he would look across the Atlantic towards America. He also reflects on his trip to Gorée. On the way there, Coates was unsure why he was going. However, he felt peaceful while there and began to realize the importance of the site. At the end of Coates's trip, he visited with a group of writers and activists in Senegal. He was shocked that they had read his books and realized his writing had traveled across the Atlantic ahead of him.

In Part 3, "Bearing the Flaming Cross," Coates recalls a time he found some of his old school papers in his father's former study. Remembering the bad marks he received on the papers, Coates begins to reflect on the American education system. He considers Paulo Freire's theories about academia and wonders how the culture can upset these flaws. He also recalls his own experiences teaching in both prisons and university classrooms. He hopes that the classroom can be a safe space for students of all demographics. At the same time, he acknowledges that current sociopolitical trends are directly attacking education. He shares the story of his time with a woman named Mary Wood by way of example. An AP Literature teacher in Chapin, South Carolina, Mary was in danger of losing her job if she did not strike one of Coates's books from her lesson plan. Coates contacted Mary, and they talked on the phone. She invited him to Chapin. In Chapin, Coates learned more about Mary's work and background. Although raised in a quintessentially white conservative Southern home, Mary had never been a conformist. She refused to back down to the Board of Education, too. Coates attended the Board meeting with her and was shocked by all the support she had rallied. Her story makes him reflect on Executive Order 13950 and governmental attacks on critical race theory. He insists such attacks are attacks on the future.

In Part 4, "The Gigantic Dream," Coates travels to Palestine and Israel. Throughout his travels, he reflects on what he sees and notices. While here, he visits Yad Vashem, a Holocaust Memorial, the Old City, the Al-Aqsa Complex, Sakiya, and the City of David. When he first gets to Israel, he recalls an article he wrote likening Jewish persecution and desire for reparations to Black Americans' persecution and fight for reparations. Throughout his time overseas, however, Coates's perspective begins to change. He realizes how much violence the Jewish State and Zionist corpus has inflicted upon the Palestinian land and people. He notes the similarities between American colonization and South African apartheid.

When Coates returns to the States, he visits with a few Palestinian families and individuals in the Chicago area. These experiences help him reflect on and make sense of his time overseas. He realizes that he knew so little about Palestinian culture because Palestinian voices have been silenced for so long. He asserts that Palestinians must have the right to tell their own stories.