Ta-Nehisi Coates

In a special evening celebrating National Book Award-winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates’ first book of fiction, he’ll be joined by Ryan Coogler, revolutionary director of Black Panther. Coates’ newly released novel The Water Dancer offers a timely exploration of the most intimate evil of enslavement—the cleaving and separation of families. Following the story of Hiram Walker, who was born into bondage and motherless, Coates not only tells the dramatic story of an atrocity inflicted on generations of women, men, and children, but also restores the humanity of those from whom everything was stolen. Join us at the West Angeles Cathedral, a community pillar of the vibrant Historic Crenshaw District, for a momentous conversation between two groundbreaking contemporary artists exploring ideas of race, history, and politics.