the feminist librarian reads

Coates believes that if there is an answer to contemporary racism, it lies in confronting the past. He doesn’t ignore the periodic eruptions of racial violence, such as the most recent one in Ferguson, MO, but his focus is on the less visible systemic roots of these incidents. He nudges the conversation about race forward by helping readers see an old problem in new ways. He is no soothsayer, telling people what to think from on high, but rather is refreshingly open about what he doesn’t know, inviting readers to learn with him. Coates is not merely an ivory-tower pontificator or a shiny Web 2.0 brand. He is a public intellectual for the digital age.