The Audacity of a Middle Period: An Introduction

Ta-Nehisi Coates commands varied attention. These reactions not only hint at the range of opinions about Coates but also affirm his status as an intellectual celebrity. Determining the meaning of such affirmation requires a long view of black creativity. After the Civil Rights era and the passage of legislation like the Voting Rights Act, the articulation of black cares and concerns increasingly migrated away from the moral milieu of the ministerial class and towards the realpolitik manipulations of mayors, city council members, and state/national legislators. This development did not occur all at once; however, gradually, the vital tasks of speaking on behalf of Black America fell to a class of individuals whose chief obligations dovetailed with governance. Here, Hill et al consider Coates' career vis-a-vis, authorship, and the middle period. Middle periods are rare for black authors. As a collective, these individuals are often summarily ignored.