What is the theme of Ta Nehisi-Coates profile?

Nehisi-Coates is writing about Michelle Obama’s different facets of being black and the progression to a society where being defined as black is the overlooked as “the two oceans that define America”. The article has a lot of perspective that supports the theme, exploring the different flavors of the community, threading together her experience growing up in a black neighborhood, and historically black college and so forth with the fight for equality and nationalistic pride.

Is there an overarching narrative?

The overarching narrative is black people being themselves and defining themselves as American as oppose to black. Nehisi-Coates explores her the work of Michelle Obama, and what she has done as a potential first-lady. In the text, it’s most evident in the block quote from Obama’s thesis, defining race as a divider.

What surprises Coates about Michelle Obama?

Coates had a pre-determined image of Michelle being a strong independent black woman who embraces the “angry black woman” front. Instead, he was surprised by her calm approach when discussing her upbringing, and admits to almost taking her for white.

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

Coates speaks of his background in an indirect comparison to Michelle, nullifying that racism and segregation is a thing from past decades, and is present in today’s society. By using Michelle’s figure as the first black first-lady. Black culture is not splashing into the scene, already rippling in the American culture, but it’s still treated as something new, and for the writer, growing up in Baltimore, black power was very evident in his community, whereas Michelle was brought up in a community where that was not the central theme of the community because they were almost separated through their self-sufficiency.