Paul Coates (publisher)

Last updated
Paul Coates
W.P. Coates at the National Book Awards Ceremony 2024 (cropped).jpg
Coates at the 2024 National Book Awards
Born
William Paul Coates

(1946-07-04) July 4, 1946 (age 78)
West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education Antioch University; Clark Atlanta University
Occupation(s)Publisher, printer and community activist
Organization Black Classic Press (founder)
Children7, incl. Ta-Nehisi Coates (son)
Awards Dorothy Porter Wesley Award;
Lord Nose Award;
Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community

William Paul Coates (born July 4, 1946) [1] is an American publisher, printer and community activist. In 1978, he founded the Black Classic Press (BCP), devoted to publishing obscure and significant works by and about individuals of African descent, particularly previously out-of-print books, and he also established the printing company BCP Digital Printing in 1995. [2] He is the father of author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates. [1] [3]

Contents

Biography

W. Paul Coates [4] was born in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Edna Coates and Douglas Cryor. [1] Leaving high school early, Coates enlisted in the U.S. Army; he found himself the target of harassment and racism, but he also happened upon Richard Wright's memoir Black Boy , which led Coates to discover other Black writers, such as Malcolm X, Dick Gregory, and James Baldwin. [3] In 1965, Coates was sent to serve in Vietnam, where he worked as a military policeman in a K-9 unit. He was discharged after 18 months, in 1967. [3]

Upon his return to the U.S., he settled in Baltimore, Maryland, and began working as a volunteer in the Black Panther Party's breakfast program. Becoming defense captain of the Baltimore Black Panthers, he was "in charge of managing all Panther activities in Maryland, including implementing free clothing and free food programs and housing assistance, before leaving the organisation in 1971". [1]

In 1972, with other activists, he established the George Jackson Prison Movement to bring Afrocentric literature to inmates, aiming to "retrieve the souls and minds of the incarcerated". [3] The program was run from a bookstore Coates and another former Panther set up in 1973 called The Black Book, [3] [5] and he subsequently turned his efforts to founding, in 1978, the Black Classic Press (BCP), characterised as "a mission-driven publishing venture focused on preserving the collective story of African-American people". [6] Originally headquartered in the basement of his home, with the company's first publications being pamphlets printed on a photocopier, BCP would survive over decades to become one of the longest-running continuous African-American book publishers, alongside Haki Madhubuti's Third World Press. [5] [7] [8]

Using the G.I. Bill, which provided financial support for veterans to attend college, Coates earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in community development from the Homestead Montebello Center of Antioch University in Baltimore in 1979. [1] He then obtained a master's degree in library science from Clark Atlanta University in 1980. [1] After completing his education, he worked at Howard University's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center until 1991. [3] He co-edited, with Elinor Des Verney Sinnette, Black Bibliophiles and Collectors: Preservers of Black History (Howard University Press, 1990). [9] [10]

In 1995, Coates launched BCP Digital Printing to specialize in short-run printing, about which he said in 2018: "There are many publishing companies, but there's still only one Black book printing company in this country that I know of, and that's Black Classic Press." [2]

An impactful landmark for BCP came in 1997 when author Walter Mosley granted the company publication rights to his novel Gone Fishin'—deliberately opting for an independent Black publisher and waiving his customary six-figure advance—and the novel became one of BCP's most successful titles, with sales of more than 100,000 copies. [1] [3] [11] [12] Among other notable contemporary and historical authors whose work has been published by BCP are John Henrik Clarke, E. Ethelbert Miller, Yosef Ben-Jochannan, Dorothy B. Porter, Amiri Baraka, Larry Neal, W. E. B. Du Bois, Edward Blyden, J. E. Casely Hayford, Bobby Seale, John G. Jackson, Carter Woodson, and J. A. Rogers, with BCP specializing in obscure and significant works by and about people of African descent. [5] [8] [9] As Coates says in the mission statement of BCP: "We began publishing because we wanted to extend the memory of what we believe are important books that have helped in meaningful ways to shape the Black diasporic experience and our understanding of the world." [13]

Coates is a founding member and chair of the National Association of Black Book Publishers and has served as an adjunct instructor of African American Studies at Sojourner-Douglass College in Baltimore. [14]

Awards

In 2018, in recognition of his excellence in contributing to the information profession Coates received the inaugural Dorothy Porter Wesley Award [15] [16] from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History ASALH), established "to honor and document the outstanding work of Information Professionals; Bibliophiles, Librarians, Archivists, Curators and Collectors." [17]

In 2020, the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) awarded Coates its Lord Nose Award, given annually in recognition of a lifetime of work in literary publishing. [18]

In 2024, Coates received the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. [19] [20] [21] David Steinberger, chair of the National Book Foundation, stated: "Over the course of his career, W. Paul Coates has recovered and discovered countless essential works of Black literature, and readers everywhere have reaped the benefits of his passion and care for the written word. Since the 1970s, Coates has modeled what it means to be a community-focused independent publisher and tireless advocate for Black diasporic writers and books." [22] The award was presented to Coates on November 20 by Walter Mosley. [23]

Personal life

Coates has seven biological children, as well as two step-children through his third marriage, in 2010. [24] His son Ta-Nehisi writes about growing up with his father in a well-received 2008 memoir and tribute, entitled The Beautiful Struggle. [8] [25] [26] [27] In the Los Angeles Times , Lynell George summarized the book by saying: "What overshadows all is his father's presence, his omnipresence—the profile and teachings of a man who had a strong hand in the rearing of his progeny, both his intimate circle and the extended family of African Americans traversing an uncertain landscape. His guiding principle was simple: 'I'm not here to be your friend. My job is to get you through. To make you conscious of the world around you. To teach lessons that can carry over.'" [28]

The 2020 book The Brother You Choose: Paul Coates and Eddie Conway Talk About Life, Politics, and The Revolution, written by Susie Day, is an exploration of the friendship forged during prison visits that Coates made to support Eddie Conway, a former associate through the Black Panther Party, who had been wrongfully convicted and was incarcerated for more than four decades, until his release on parole in 2014. [29] [30] [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Mosley</span> American novelist (born 1952)

Walter Ellis Mosley is an American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private investigator living in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. They are, perhaps, his most popular works. In 2020, Mosley received the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, making him the first Black man to receive the honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Panther (character)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Black Panther is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-coplotter Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #52, published in July 1966. Black Panther's birth name is T'Challa, and he is the son of the previous Black Panther, T'Chaka. He is the king and protector of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, a technologically advanced society drawing from a supply of vibranium, a fictional metal of extraordinary properties. Along with possessing enhanced abilities achieved through ancient Wakandan rituals of drinking the essence of the heart-shaped herb, T'Challa also relies on his proficiency in science, expertise in his nation's traditions, rigorous physical training, hand-to-hand combat skills, and access to wealth and advanced Wakandan technology to combat his enemies. The character became a member of the Avengers in 1968, and has continued that affiliation off and on in subsequent decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Marx</span> American academic (born 1959)

Anthony William "Tony" Marx is an American academic. He became the president and CEO of the New York Public Library in July 2011, succeeding Paul LeClerc. Marx is the former president of Amherst College, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Since joining the New York Public Library, Marx has focused on expanding the library’s education programs and on increasing public access to library e-books. He has also prioritized services for researchers and bringing library materials to public schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Stelfreeze</span> American comic book artist

Brian Stelfreeze is an American comic book artist. Stelfreeze is a painter, penciller, inker and colorist and has worked for nearly every major American comic book publisher. He is one of the original members of Atlanta's Gaijin Studios.

<i>The Crew</i> (comics) Fictional gospel rapper

The Crew is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring teams of superheroes primarily of African descent banding together in New York City to fight injustice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodlawn High School (Maryland)</span> Public school in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Woodlawn High School (WHS) is a four-year public high school in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The school opened in the fall of 1961. Prior to that, students in the area attended Catonsville, Milford Mill, or Franklin High Schools. In the fall of 2017, Woodlawn offered an Early College Program to help students prepare for university education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ta-Nehisi Coates</span> American writer and journalist (born 1975)

Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates is an American author, journalist, and activist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at The Atlantic, where he wrote about cultural, social, and political issues, particularly regarding African Americans and white supremacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Classic Press</span> Book publishing company, founded by W. Paul Coates in 1978

Black Classic Press (BCP) is an African-American book publishing company, founded by W. Paul Coates in 1978. Since then, BCP has published original titles by notable authors including Walter Mosley, John Henrik Clarke, E. Ethelbert Miller, Yosef Ben-Jochannan, and Dorothy B. Porter, as well as reissuing significant works by Tony Martin, Amiri Baraka, Larry Neal, W. E. B. Du Bois, Edward Blyden, J. E. Casely Hayford, Bobby Seale, J. A. Rogers, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yona Harvey</span> American poet (born 1974)

Yona Harvey is an American poet and assistant professor at University of Pittsburgh. She won the 2014 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. She is also an author of Marvel Comics' World of Wakanda, becoming one of the first two black women writing for Marvel.

<i>Between the World and Me</i> 2015 book by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Between the World and Me is a 2015 nonfiction book written by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It was written by Coates as a letter to his then-teenage son about his perception of what the feelings, symbolism, and realities associated with being Black in the United States are. Coates recapitulates American history and explains to his son "racist violence that has been woven into American culture." Coates draws from an abridged, autobiographical account of his youth in Baltimore, detailing his beliefs about what are the ways in which, to him, institutions like schools, the local police, and even "the streets" discipline, endanger, and threaten to "disembody" black men and women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brit Bennett</span> American writer

Brit Bennett is an American writer based in Los Angeles. Her debut novel The Mothers (2016) was a New York Times best-seller. Her second novel, The Vanishing Half (2020), was also a New York Times best-seller, and was chosen as a Good Morning America Book Club selection. The Vanishing Half was selected as one of The New York Times' ten best books of 2020, and was shortlisted for the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction.

<i>World of Wakanda</i> Comic book spin-off of Marvels Black Panther

Black Panther: World of Wakanda is a comic book series and a spin-off from the Marvel Comics Black Panther title. It published six issues before being canceled. The series was primarily written by Roxane Gay, with poet Yona Harvey contributing a story to the first issue. Alitha E. Martinez drew the majority of the art for the series, for which Afua Richardson contributed cover art to the first five issues, as well as art for a short story in the first issue. Gay and Harvey became the first two black women to author a series for Marvel; counting Martinez and Richardson, upon its debut the series itself was helmed entirely by black women. Ta-Nehisi Coates served as a consultant for the series.

Tony Dokoupil is an American broadcast journalist and author. Since 2019, Dokoupil has co-hosted CBS's morning program CBS Mornings. Before joining the network in 2016, Dokoupil was a news correspondent for NBCNews and MSNBC and a writer at Newsweek and The Daily Beast.

Jason Damian Hill is a Jamaican-American professor of philosophy at DePaul University in Chicago.

<i>The Water Dancer</i> 2019 novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Water Dancer is the debut novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates, published on September 24, 2019, by Random House under its One World imprint. It is a surrealist story set in the pre-Civil War South, concerning a superhuman protagonist named Hiram Walker who possesses a photographic memory, but who cannot remember his mother. He learns he has a special ability known as "conduction", with which he is able to transport people—including himself—over long distances. Conduction is powered by his memories and storytelling, and can fold the Earth like fabric, allowing travel across large areas via waterways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Case for Reparations</span> 2014 article by Ta-Nehisi Coates

"The Case for Reparations" is an article written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and published in The Atlantic in 2014. The article focuses on redlining and housing discrimination through the eyes of people who have experienced it and the devastating effects it has had on the African-American community. "The Case for Reparations" received critical acclaim and was named the "Top Work of Journalism of the Decade" by New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. It also skyrocketed Coates' career and led him to write Between the World and Me, a New York Times Best Seller and winner of numerous nonfiction awards. It took Coates two years to finish this 16,000 word essay. Coates stated that his goal was to get people to stop laughing at the idea of reparations. The article has been described as highly influential, sparking an interest among politicians, activists and policy-makers to pursue reparations.

Tetu is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and artist Brian Stelfreeze, the character first appeared in Black Panther vol. 6 #1. Tetu, initially motivated by a desire to punish the wealthy elite who exploited the less fortunate, formed the rebellious Wakandan group known as the People and attempted to overthrow the king of Wakanda, Black Panther. Despite this defeat, has returned numerous times, continuously gathering new allies to challenge T'Challa once again. His increasing reliance on violence led him to forge increasingly dangerous alliances, drawing in organizations like Hydra, with figures such as Baron Zemo among his collaborators.

Zenzi is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze, the character first appeared in Black Panther #1. She is an adversary of the superhero Black Panther.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Lively</span> American civil rights activist

Walter Hall Lively, Jr. was an African American civil rights and socialist activist in Baltimore, Maryland. A key figure in the Black Power and Black Arts Movements in Baltimore, Lively founded and headed several important organizations devoted to Black liberation and ending poverty. According to the Baltimore Sun, “National civil rights leaders publicly predicted he would be Baltimore’s first Black mayor.” His unexpected death at age 34 abruptly ended his political career.

<i>The Message</i> (Coates book) 2024 nonfiction book by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Message is a nonfiction book by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates, published on October 1, 2024, by Random House under its One World imprint. The Associated Press described it as "part memoir, part travelogue, and part writing primer". The narrative reflects on his visits to Dakar, Senegal; Chapin, South Carolina; and the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The latter half of the book covers Coates's ten-day trip in the summer of 2023 to Israel-Palestine – in his first time in the region – and his argument against "the elevation of factual complexity over self-evident morality". The New York Times called it "the heart of the book, and the part that is bound to attract the most attention". According to a profile in New York, The Message "lays forth the case that the Israeli occupation is a moral crime, one that has been all but covered up by the West". In the book, Coates writes, "I don't think I ever, in my life, felt the glare of racism burn stranger and more intense than in Israel."

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "W.Paul Coates". The HistoryMakers. January 20, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Brown, Stacy M. (July 3, 2018). "Paul Coates Celebrates 40 Years at Black Classic Press, BCP Digital Printing". Washington Informer . Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Breckenridge, Kenneth Stone (January 2018). "Forward Press". Baltimore . Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  4. ↑ Coates, Ta-Nehisi (November 23, 2013). "In Defense of a Loaded Word". The New York Times .
  5. 1 2 3 Jackson, D. Amari (February 22, 2017). "How an Ex-Black Panther Waged a Successful, Four-Decade Revolution In Publishing Without Planning To". Atlanta Black Star . Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  6. ↑ Reid, Calvin (May 11, 2018). "Black Classic Press Marks 40 Years". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Paul Coates Publishing Discussion". Eso Won Books. November 7, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 Pride, Felicia (June 4, 2008). "Manning Up: The Coates Family's Beautiful Struggle in Word and Deed". Baltimore City Paper . Archived from the original on June 6, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  9. 1 2 "W. Paul Coates". African American Literature Book Club . Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  10. ↑ Ferguson, R. A. (June 2017). "Ode to the Black Bouquinistes: Bibliomaniacs of the Black Radical Tradition". CLA Journal . 60 SPECIAL ISSUE: Democratizing the Black Public Intellectual: The Writings of Ta-Nehisi Coates (4): 399–413. doi:10.1353/caj.2017.0016. JSTOR   26557002.
  11. ↑ Carvajal, Doreen (June 24, 1996). "Enlisting A Small Publisher". The New York Times .
  12. ↑ Singletary, Michelle (March 31, 1997). "Opening a New Chapter in Publishing". Washington Post .
  13. ↑ "About Us". Black Classic Press. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  14. ↑ "Paul Coates on Finding Hope—and Doubt—in the Present Moment | In Conversation with Walter Mosley on The Quarantine Tapes". Lit Hub . January 21, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Informational Professionals | 2018 Awardee". ASALH. 21 April 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  16. ↑ "W. Paul Coates: Recipient of the First Dr. Dorothy Porter Wesley Award" (PDF). Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  17. ↑ "The Dorothy Porter Wesley Award". ASALH. 22 August 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  18. ↑ "2020 Lord Nose Award | Celebrating W. Paul Coates and Black Classics Press". CLMP. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  19. ↑ "National Book Foundation to Present Lifetime Achievement Award to W. Paul Coates". National Book Foundation. September 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  20. ↑ Schaub, Michael (September 4, 2024). "W. Paul Coates Wins Literarian Award". Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  21. ↑ "W. Paul Coates Honored With a Lifetime Achievement Award From the National Book Foundation". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education . September 20, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  22. ↑ Anderson, Porter (September 4, 2024). "Publisher Paul Coates Wins the US 2024 Literarian Award". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  23. ↑ "National Book Foundation Presents Lifetime Achievement Award to W. Paul Coates, 2024". National Book Foundation. November 26, 2024 – via YouTube.
  24. ↑ Hylton, Wyl S. (April 10, 2019). "Now We're Talking". HuffPost . Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  25. ↑ Conan, Neal (June 9, 2008). "Struggling with Style – Ta-Nehisi Coates". Talk of the Nation. NPR. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  26. ↑ Gross, Terry (February 18, 2009). "Ta-Nehisi Coates' 'Unlikely Road to Manhood'". Fresh Air . NPR . Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  27. ↑ Benjamin, Rich (September 1, 2016). "The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates review – subverting white expectations". The Guardian .
  28. ↑ George, Lynell (July 9, 2008). "Lessons from Dad". Los Angeles Times.
  29. ↑ Yates, Michael D. (April 1, 2021). "These Brothers Chose Well". Monthly Review . Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  30. ↑ Cassie, Ron (October 2020). "'The Brother You Choose' Details Enduring Bond Between Paul Coates and Eddie Conway". Baltimore. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Susie Day, W. Paul Coates and Eddie Conway". AALBC. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.