the essay prompt is in the file
Background:
In Coates’ essay, he discusses the ways he began to vaguely sense that life for him, as a young
black boy in West Baltimore, was inherently different than the lives of others who did not live in
fear. Coates’ sense of inequality, even at this young age, permeated his life and helped to foster
his distrust of the schools and resentment of the streets. In “Race and the Opioid Epidemic,”
Cohen investigates the very different responses to the rise in heroin use today, mostly seen in
white communities, to the crack “epidemic” of the 1980s, which primarily affected black
communities. Cohen questions the ways that each of these crises were handled, theorizing that
the crack epidemic was treated as a criminal justice issue because it affected black communities,
while the current crisis is treated as a medical issue because of its effect on white communities.
Both authors address the inequality that can be perpetuated by the systems—in this case the
educational and criminal justice systems—that impact our lives.
Assignment:
For this essay, apply the ideas of Coates and Cohen in order to make an argument about
the role of race in this country, focusing on political and sociocultural issues.
Ideas to Consider:
How might Cohen’s essay add to Coates’ ideas about growing up in West Baltimore?
How might addressing the crack issue as a criminal justice issue increased violence and crime in
cities such as the one where Coates grew up?
How might Cohen’s argument add to Coates’ assertion that an education was the only escape
from “penal warehousing?”
What do both essays show us about the ways that inequality manifests itself in the systems that
we trust to govern our lives?
Most of the time when we think about racism, our first instinct is to think of blatant racism like
hate crimes or name-calling. What do these essays show us about the ways that racism can be
much more subtle and pervasive than that?
Formatting and Requirements:
Essay should be 4-5 pages in length plus a Works Cited page
Works Cited page must include properly formatted citations for all sources used (including
class readings)
Essay should be double-spaced, typed in Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins (on all
sides)
Include your name, my name, class and date in the upper left corner of the 1
st
page
Format your essay according to MLA guidelines (see above,
A Pocket Style Manual
or
LaunchPad for help).
You must use quotes from the reading and specific evidence from your chosen example to
support your argument.