Ta-Nehisi Coates long felt compelled to visit Africa but delayed the trip, feeling it would be emotionally challenging. When he finally traveled to Senegal, it felt like a pilgrimage. Overcome with emotion as the plane descended into Dakar, Coates realized he had been burying deep feelings. In Dakar, he visited Gorée Island and its fort, imagining his ancestors who were taken into slavery, which profoundly affected him.