But this was 1982 and Michael Jackson was God”. This was the first sentence when Ta-Nehisi Coates first mentioned Michael Jackson’s name in ‘I’m not Black, I’m Kanye’. The writer mentioned about the pop culture of the 1980’s when he started to mention about jazz and Walkman in the article. He spoke of the absence of MTV and VCRs in those days. He said how Michael Jackson was regarded as God and how people were upset when he changed his skin color and how every African American boy and man used to idolise him. The main reason for Coates to describe Jackson as God was because especially black youngsters used to see the world through the life of Jackson.

Ta-Nehisi Coates mentions that when a black man is liked and is famous among both the blacks and the non-blacks then there is a huge responsibility of that famous person to always lead a life of perfection. The writer mentions that when a black celebrity falls, he/she is not falling alone, the whole community is falling along with him /her. The writer is frankly saying in the passages that the people of color had to maintain their image perfectly in the United States of America because a small mistake could snowball into a big issue. It was the same when Michael Jackson changed his skin color.

Ta-Nehisi Coates remembers that how Michael Jackson with his studded jacket and leather pants was a God who used to stop wars and danced with the zombies. When he changed his color, the God died for the followers who used to worship him. He was dying because nothing of him remained the same. The mother of the writer says that Jackson’s skin was decaying. Coates writes that Jackson was dying to be white. He said that Jackson’s physical destruction was their physical destruction as they were tied to him. They felt as if the whole community was getting destroyed along with Michael Jackson.

After Ta-Nehisi Coates was done describing his experience Michael Jackson, now was the time for him to describe Kanye West, the God of this time. He called Donald Trump his brother and embraced him. Surprisingly, he was a fan of Trump and not of Obama and that Trump has inspired him to become a President. The writer seems to be in shock while describing West because he was standing beside and being friends with a person who is a racist and openly criticizes the members of the African American community. Yet the writer refers him as a God because he too has followers who want to become like him one day.

In order to explain their friendship, Ta-Nehisi Coates draws parallels of Kanye West to Donald Trump. He says that both are narcissistic and ignorant. West calls Chicago the murder capital of the world and it makes him more dangerous according to the writer. Coates says that although someone as racist as Trump won the Presidential election in 2016, racism is there since the first slaves landed on the soil of USA from Africa. He was shocked because both, Trump and West had the same mentality about a US city as Trump threatened Chicago with a federal occupation. It was nothing new for the black people as American unity was always based on racism, Indian killings, land grabs, etc.

Ta-Nehisi Coates says that Kanye West should not be granted any reprieve as he is a celebrity. He says this in reply to West’s statement that he does not have answers which a celebrity is supposed to have. Coates takes a dig at West and says that the Trump he is supporting is going to be someone who is going to hurt the black and Latino community, deny science, etc. The President is going to hurt those people who made Kanye a God. Coates, through his writings is telling West to introspect his decision to make Trump his friend. He admits that both Jackson and West are gods but from two different ages (Coates).

According to Coates, Kanye West became what Michael Jackson waned to become and that was to be free from the African American community and he never had to change the color of his skin for that. Coates cautions against travelling with someone whom a person does not want to consider. He thought what would have Jackson done when he came to know that his black face was connected to all the black boys and men who used to love him. He wonders what will happen if West tries to reconnect with his community and comes back to Chicago.

Work Cited

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “I’m not Black, I’m Kanye.” The Atlantic 7 (2018).