An Evening with Ta-Nehisi Coates

An essential voice for our times, New York Times bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates does precisely what he argues the best writers do: haunt.

His cogent yet lyrical arguments linger long after they have been read. His landmark 2014 essay “The Case for Reparations” and his bestselling 2015 book Between the World and Me continue to shape conversations on race, history, and justice.

Hailed as “intellectually fearless” by The New Yorker and “the James Baldwin of our era” by fellow author Isabel Wilkerson, Coates has won the National Book Award, National Magazine Award, and was named a MacArthur Genius. His fictional novel The Water Dancer is set to be adapted into film.

Coates worked as a journalist for over two decades, with pieces in The Washington City Paper, The Village Voice, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. He was also national correspondent for The Atlantic, and is currently a monthly contributor to Variety. His award-winning writing combines reportage, historical analysis, and personal narrative to address some of America’s most complex and challenging issues pertaining to culture and identity.

While Coates first made his mark grappling with what it means to be a Black man in America today, his latest book, The Message, is about the urgent need to untangle ourselves from the destructive myths that shape our world and mislead our moral compasses.

Following his previously sold-out Vancouver event at the Chan Centre in 2020, Coates returns for a powerful conversation that will stay with you long after the evening ends.

Presented in partnership with SFU’s Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies