In Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book Between the World and Me, Coates mentions a metaphorical trophy case several times throughout the narrative. Coates describes coming to Howard University with all the motives of a man looking to fill his trophy case, but he soon realizes that “something more than a national trophy case [is] needed [for him] to be truly free” (Coates, p. 53). The trophy case symbolizes a collection of historical figures whose stories might help to justify his own life and identity of a black man as being worth something. He wishes he could put the life of Queen Nzinga, who fought against the slave trade in central Africa, in his trophy case, and he also imagines putting all the other bodies, “mocked, terrorized, and insecure” into his case (55). For Coates, the trophy case functions as a symbol of those in history who had to live the same struggle which Coates finds himself facing every day. However, Coates realizes that this idea of a trophy case as a way to justify his identity is only the creation of fear - fear that the “alleged authors and heirs of the universe were right” in that the only thing particular in the skin of a black man is the struggle which he must endure (56).
If I were to create my own trophy case, the case…show more content… Although these people may seem to relate to my identity as a young christian, they fail to represent the values and bravery which I want to include in my trophy case. These people are those who come to church, but deny religion when it best suits them. Instead of standing up for their beliefs, these individuals are the kind of people that will stay quiet or even conform to avoid dissent. Ultimately, these people live as hippocrates, living under the weight of fear rather than the freedom of faith, and thus, they have already been taken out of my case because they are not the people whose narratives help justify my
