[Winning the White House was an achievement], but as an African-American, [Barack Obama], I think the symbolism is … - Ta-Nehisi Coates

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I believe that my art gets across the point that I'm in this morality theater trying to help the underdog, and I'm speaking socially here, showing concern and making psychological and philosophical statements for the underdog.

Ta-Nehisi Coates

[Winning the White House was an achievement], but as an African-American, [Barack Obama], I think the symbolism is in how he conducted himself. The symbolism was in - and this sounds really, really small, but it's actually big for African-Americans - the symbolism was not in being an embarrassment, but to being a figure that folks were actually proud of.

Conducted, Symbolism, Think, Thinking, Winning

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I want to be really, really clear about this. It doesn't mean that everyone or even the majority of people who voted for Donald Trump are racist or white supremacists or anything like that. But what it means is that it's not a mistake that Trump began his campaign with birthersism.

Clear, Donald, Everyone, Mean, Mistake, White

Addressing the moral failings of black people while ignoring the centuries-old failings of their governments amounts to a bait and switch.

Addressing, Amounts, Black, Failings, Government, People

Part of that is ordinary African-Americans, you come out of your house and you see the conditions in your neighborhood and you see, folks in your neighborhood doing certain things that, are irresponsible. You know, the thing I always think about, you get up early in the morning to go to work and there's some dude outside drinking and you come home and the same dude is outside drinking hanging on the corner. And then this engenders a level of anger I think and a level of shame.

Corner, Drinking, Home, Level, Morning, Shame

Lot of folks like to mock dumb history, and pretend it's just a few idiots. Isn't. It's the country.

Country, Dumb, Idiot, Idiots, Mock

When you have a policy of making sure that African Americans cannot build wealth, of plundering African American communities of wealth, giving opportunities to other people, it's only right that you might want to, you know, pay that back.

American, Communities, Giving, Opportunity, People, Wealth