Sports Illustrated

In "Journalism Is Not a Luxury," Coates describes the copy of Sports Illustrated he gets when he is seven years old. He is intrigued by this particular issue because it contained an article about Darryl Stingley, a former wide receiver who was paralyzed after a football injury. Coates uses his exposure to this article as a throughway into his discussion of reading as exploration and the prevalence of violence in American culture.

Dakar

In "On Pharaohs," Coates details his trip to Dakar. After years of putting off traveling to Africa, Coates finally makes a trip overseas. When he arrives in Dakar, he is amazed by the energy and beauty of the place. However, he also admits that he felt out of place and was overwhelmed by an inexplicable sadness. He uses his time in Dakar to explore the psychological and generational effects of the transatlantic slave...