Part I
Exact or precise
Technical
a text that has a strong influence on ideas, works, and events that come later (ex. Gettysburg Address)
Seminal Text
To feel something unpleasant or in an intense way as it pertains to your body
acutely
An environment that is chaotic
Pandemonium
Americans deeply value democracy - but America has historically excluded Black people from participation.
The unofficial meaning of a word that may be different from the dictionary definition,
Connotative Meaning
To officially make a place holy or sacred
Consecrate
preparing for something difficult, like a fight.
Girding
Impossible to understand.
Inscrutable
The reason that police officers are not indicted for killing innocent black and brown people.
Legacy of Violence against Black and Brown people
The dictionary definition of a word
Denotative
Democracy
Related to or coming from a family member who lived before
Ancestral
Remove from office suddenly and forcefully.
Depose
This Central Idea is exemplified by Coates when he said he feels this most acutely when he son is apart from him and when he named his ancestors that died unnatural deaths.
Black American live in Fear
To treat like a God or Goddess
Diefy
Having a false look or appearance. It looks or seems real but it is not.
Specious
Waved or shook something (like a weapon) in a threatening way
Beyond the sky
Firmament
At 11 years old, Coates realized this, while standing outside a 7-11
He could become a victim of gun violence.
beliefs or opinions that do not agree with the official belief or opinion of a particular religion
Heresies
A formal, written accusation that a person has committed a crime
Indictment
Extra; more than what is needed. Over the top.
Extravagant
Looking at someone in an unpleasant way.
Scowl
Coates describes this as, "some inscrutable energy that preserved the breach between his world and worlds where children did not fear for their bodies."
Institutionalized Racism