What is the theme of Ta Nehisi-Coates’s profile?

The theme of Coates’ piece seems to be a general examination of the neighborhood Michelle Obama grew up in and the history thereof. It’s a look into how her upbringing has impacted the woman she is today.

Is there an overarching narrative?

There’s a narrative of a sort of egalitarian existence within Chicago–within her community, Obama was able to “forget” that she was black in the sense that she was not constantly told she was an “other.” Everyone around her looked just like her, so there was no sense of otherness till she stepped outside her community. This aspect of Obama’s early life, with a working father and stay at home mother, stands in contrast to many stereotypes about black families.

What surprises Coates about Michelle Obama?

Coates notes that he almost took Obama for white the first time he saw her, and was surprised at the ease and fondness with which she recalled her childhood and old neighborhood.

How does Coates contextualize Michelle in the context of his own background growing up in Baltimore?

Coates contrasts his early upbringing, where he was keenly aware of his blackness and of blackness as a culture, to Obama’s, who was only aware of this when she stepped into the outside world. Both had very different perspectives on themselves in early life.