This week’s "New York" magazine cover story profiles Ta-Nehisi Coates and talks about his new book, “Between the World and Me.” In the article, Coates, who writes for The Atlantic, talks about the Confederate flag, the tragedy in Charleston, and the widespread interest in his book. The in-depth article is worth a read, but here are some choice quotes: 

On the Confederate flag:

I mean, I tweeted this out, but I didn’t expect it to happen. And hell, they did it! It turns out that was actually what was in motion. Shit!

On the families of the murdered nine in Charleston forgiving the killer:

Is that real? I question the realness of that…. Is it aspirational? Like, I say, “I forgive you” because I think I’m supposed to?

On people being interested in his work:

When people who are not black are interested in what I do, frankly, I’m always surprised. I don’t know if it’s my low expectations for white people or what.

Read the full interview here.