We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy

“One strain of African-American thought holds that it is a violent black recklessness—the black gangster, the black rioter—that strikes the ultimate terror in white America. Perhaps it does, in the most individual sense. But in the collective sense, what this country really fears is black respectability, good Negro government.” 

Coates’s move here—presenting commonly held beliefs, only to show that the reality is the opposite of what one assumes—is typical of his approach to writing about race in America. This approach reflects his commitment to truth telling and destroying myths as the roles of the Black writer. The quote also serves as a preview of his focus of the impact of White supremacy on America and Black Americans.

“His historical amnesia—his assertion that many of the problems that pervade black America are of a recent vintage—is simply wrong, as is his contention that today’s young African Americans are somehow weaker, that they’ve dropped the ball. And for all its positive energy, his language of uplift has its limitations.” 

This quote encapsulates Coates’s critique of Black respectability politics, of which he takes Bill Cosby to be a proponent. As is the case for many of his arguments, especially when they involve criticism of respected Black figures, Coates takes care to ground his argument in history, an approach that enhances his credibility. 

“But increasingly, as we move into the mainstream, black folks are taking a third road—being ourselves. Implicit in the notion of code-switching is a belief in the illegitimacy of blacks as Americans, as well as disbelief in the ability of a white people to understand us. But if you see black identity [...] as a branch of the American tree, with the roots in the broader experience […] then you understand the particulars of black culture are inseparable from the particulars of the country.” 

Coates is commenting on Michelle Obama’s refusal to code switch. His description of the rationale for her approach to Black self-representation shows how her skillful ability to mobilize myths like the American Dream made her central to her husband’s success as a politician. This “third way” accounts for the potency of the Obamas as symbols of Black excellence.