Ta-Nehisi Coates delves into the conflicted and hopeful state of black America today. What does "black culture" mean? What is the continuing role of both the older and younger generations in shaping it? Where will gentrification, education, and the splintering (or unifying) of families take it? This talk asks the small personal questions as well as the big historic ones.

An Atlantic senior editor and writer, Ta-Nehisi Coates has penned many influential articles on race, masculinity, and politics. His June 2014 cover story on slavery and race, "The Case for Reparations," is one of the most talked-about pieces of nonfiction in recent memory. Last year, his lively Atlantic blog was named by Time as one of the 25 Best in the World. Coates is a former writer for The Village Voice, and a contributor to Time, O, and The New York Times Magazine.

Presented by the Institute for Research on Women & Gender (IRWG) and the Women’s Studies Department, the biennial Motorola Lecture exposes students, faculty, and the broader community to the work of exceptional journalists and informs students about ways the media can reframe public understanding of complex issues.