Ta-Nehisi Coates to speak at St. Kate’s on Oct. 23

Award-winning author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates will speak at St. Catherine University on Thursday, October 23 as the 2025 One Read for Racial Justice author. The conversation at The O’Shaughnessy will center on his most recent book, New York Times bestseller The Message. 

Formerly a national correspondent for The Atlantic, Coates has been called “the James Baldwin of our era” by author and former Kelly Lecturer Isabel Wilkerson. His writing frequently addresses the most complex and challenging cultural and identity issues in the United States, drawing on his lengthy journalistic career, historical analysis, and lived experience. He is currently a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and the Sterling Brown Endowed Chair in the English department at Howard University. His other books include The Water Dancer and 2015 National Book Award winner Between the World and Me.

The Message was written as a letter to his students wherein he ruminates on the global intersection of justice issues after taking trips to Senegal, South Carolina, and Palestine. Above all, he explores the connection between stories, oppression, and liberation. In The Message, Coates grapples with the dual power of stories to both distort reality and uphold systems of power, and to illuminate paths to a more just world. 

Coates’ talk is a part of St. Kate’s One Read for Racial Justice initiative. One Read is an annual, collaborative, campus-wide project that seeks to raise awareness about racial justice issues, create opportunities for dialogue, and promote community. Each year, a book is chosen to be the basis for community discussion and different events that delve deeper into the book’s contents and themes. One Read is led by the St. Kate’s library in collaboration with a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, and alumni across departments and disciplines. Learn more about One Read for Racial Justice and the events in the fall 2025 event series.