Ta-Nehisi Coates stepping down at The Atlantic

Ta-Nehisi Coates will be stepping down as a national correspondent at The Atlantic after 10 years with the publication, according to The Washington Post.

"Our colleague, and dear friend, Ta-Nehisi Coates is stepping down as a national correspondent for The Atlantic," wrote Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg in a note to staff. "As he has explained to me — and as he’s written in the recent past — the last few years for him have been years of significant changes."

"He’s told me that he would like to take some time to reflect on these changes, and to figure out the best path forward, both as a person and as a writer," Goldberg added.

Coates, 42, told the Post that he has no plans to go to another publication.

“It was this or nothing,” Coates said. “I didn’t have anything else.”

Coates is known as one of the more influential writers in the industry. He won the National Book Award for nonfiction in 2015 for “Between the World and Me,” which talks in candid terms about his experience of being a black man in America.

Controversy swirled at The Atlantic in April not long after the abrupt firing of conservative and controversial writer Kevin Williamson, a move for which Coates had initially advocated. Williamson was hired and fired not long after backlash regarding his comments on abortion.

A leaked tape obtained by HuffPost later revealed that Coates said he felt like he had failed "the writers of color" at The Atlantic by endorsing Williamson.

“I was not like, 'don’t hire that dude.' To the contrary, I thought, 'OK, well he can come in and represent the position, and then we can fight it out,' ” Coates said on the leaked tape.

“I became the public face of the magazine in many ways, and I don’t really want to be that. I want to be a writer,” Coates told the Post. “I’m not a symbol of what The Atlantic wants to do or whatever.”

Coates still has plans to release a new book in the coming year. He also teaches at New York University.

He added to the Post that he's open to returning to The Atlantic to write a piece "in six months or a year."

http://thehill.com/homenews/media/398130-ta-nehisi-coates-stepping-down-at-the-atlantic

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36472856)

“I was not like, 'don’t hire that dude.' To the contrary, I thought, 'OK, well he can come in and represent the position, and then we can fight it out,' ” Coates said on the leaked tape.

This is a fucking "MacArthur Genius"

"Like, whatever, dude"

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36472912)

He used to treat the Atlantic like his blog, but he's steadily moved away from that

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36472917)

i got the impression by glossing over that he was fatigued by being "the black guy in the room talking for all black people" especially when super bright black dudes took him to task for basically being a reverseracistmo.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36472973)

He also claims he doesn't like being as famous as he is now. I think he has always pretended he was talking to black people, not for black people. Since he has become famous, he's opened himself up to criticism even from the black community (which makes him uncomfortable).

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473053)

He used to post stuff like this:

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2009/03/some-thoughts-on-naxxramas-warcraft/6835/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473468)

is this from the Berenstein Bears timeline

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473761)

Lmao yes

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473779)

https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/014/401/tumblr_inline_mqrh26jIU11qz4rgp.jpg

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473463)

my wife actually personally knows someone involved in this and, quote, "that bitch is fucking crazy. she was bragging about fucking him on her blog a couple of years ago. now she was assaulted? miss me with that."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473186)

This guy is no TNC, but even still it sounds like he made out a hell of a lot better than your typical dude w/o dat identity-based protective amulet.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473058)

there was really no truth to the sexual assault allegations. As to the verbal abuse, 100% he did that shit. i met him once and i was basically like "you're mad aggy for 8 o'clock, my dude." like he was sitting at the bar just stewing mad waiting for the show to start. like mad at life.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473195)

recall that #believethewomen is a completely mainstream position nowadays. who was willing to go public with any sympathy for mattressgirl dude, even after the chick was shown to be a complete lunatic, he was exonerated and Columbia paid him for ruining his shit? certainly no "group of academics". this junior guy prob somewhere in the middle of a hypothetically-accused TNC and mattressgirl dude

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473314)

the atlantic is one of the most famous TTT in decline shitlib libshitrags in the country

ergo, by transitive property, TNC is one of the most famous people in the country

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473416)

I'm not saying this from a shitlib perspective. I agree that he's mostly a self-conscious, bonehead mascot and a mediocre writer. But he is famous and influential.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473941)

narrowing the inquiry to "intellectual shitlib circles" misses the point

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36476183)

but this non sequitur is more like shifting from vintage comics to anal sex

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473459)

184 of 240 people found the following review helpful

Between the Racist World and Ta Coates

By Alfonso Dupont on July 24, 2015

Format: Kindle Edition

Ta Coates is one of the great thinkers of the 21st century. Don't agree? Then you're on the wrong side of history.

Ta has written a book for the ages, chronicling such fascinating episodes as dating, doing poorly in academics because of racism, reading comic books, the racism of attractive white women he has asked out, what it was like to be in a down low relationship with Matt Yglesias for five months, cartoons, and the phenomenon known as "muhdik". Between the World and Me (a brilliant title that counterbalances the entire world with Ta Coates' genius) ranks with the Confessions of St. Augustine, if St. Augustine had done poorly in school and mostly just watched television and read comic books during his formative years. In fact St. Augustine is a rather trivial figure in Western history that you don't need to have heard of, he never even influenced society through highly praised magazine columns, and his books are very boring compared to reading about the adventures of men in colorful skin tight costumes.

During a long and rambling eighth chapter, Ta discusses his brave decision to disable comments on his blog. He shows how talking back to a highly paid media personality is an example of "punching down", employing a series of stories which usually involve noting that people who have promoted him are actually racist and did so only because they expected him to fail. There's also a moving account of how he literally wept on discovering how to turn on Microsoft Word's spelling and grammar checker.

As A.O.Scott has observed, Between Ta World and Me is "essential, like water or air", a truism you'd have to be a real hate-in-your-soul racist to deny. As a matter of fact, people who are too racist to read and enjoy this brilliantly spelled and grammar-checked volume are expected to die very soon because this book is literally essential, like water or air. An edition in which all of the book's passages are placed as dialogue between comic book heroes Black Lightning and Luke Cage is said to be in the works.

Like Ta's 14-year-old son, you may not be interested in reading through the many spelling and grammar corrected pages of this book, but even just having it on your bookshelf is important until the forthcoming graphic novel version arrives. How will they know you're not a racist otherwise? I personally enjoy reading it while enjoying water and air, two things that like this book are essential. Thus I give it the first star rating of excellence.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473369)

See https://www.theatlantic.com/author/ta-nehisi-coates/

He probably got busy with his fame and other gigs , and his editors got tired of paying for a writer who doesn't produce. Same thing happened to Stephen A. Smith at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36473964)

and it's very hard to escape. even going to the store and talking to the no one, the daily news headline is ALWAYS insane and MAF. that grinds on you after a while. turn it all off, gentlemen.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4031933&forum_id=2#36480868)