How to Be an Antiracist (Kendi)

How to Be an Antiracist 
Ibram X. Kendi, 2019
Random House
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780525509288 


Summary
Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism—and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other.

At it's core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types.

Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves.

In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilites—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their posionous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.

Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—August 13, 1982
• Where—New York City, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., Florida A & M; Ph.D., Temple University
• Awards—National Book Award
• Currently—lives in Wasihngton, D.C.


Ibram X. Kendi is a New York Times bestselling author and the founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University.

A professor of history and international relations and a frequent public speaker, Kendi is a columnist at The Atlantic. He is the author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and The Black Campus Movement, which won the W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize.

Kendi lives in Washington, D.C. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
[A]nother stunner of a book that is in some ways [Kendi's] previous work’s natural counterpart…. Kendi offers up a wrenching examination of the evolution of his [own racism]…. While acknowledging the reality of racism in contemporary life, Kendi wants to free us from using tainted ideas to stigmatize people and support policies that define others as inferior…. What emerges from these insights is the most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind, a confessional of self-examination that may, in fact, be our best chance to free ourselves from our national nightmare.
New York Times Book Review


Kendi… displays an admirable independence and candor. Though he situates himself far to the left among black activist intellectuals, he is unafraid to say things likely to singe the sensibilities of many of his potential followers…. Kendi’s book suffers, alas, from major flaws.… In the most obtuse pages, Kendi condemns standardized testing, disparages the significance of what should be alarming racial patterns in academic achievement gaps…. His polemic is littered with misleading red herrings, as when he says that implicit in the idea of academic achievement gaps, as measured by statistical instruments like test scores and dropout rates, is a conviction that the qualities measured by such criteria constitute  the only form of academic "achievement’'…  Despite misgivings about various features of How to Be an Antiracist, we should fervently hope to see more work from Kendi in the months and years to come.
Washington Post


(Starred review) [A] boldly articulated, historically informed explanation of what exactly racist ideas and thinking are…. His prose is thoughtful, sincere, and polished. This powerful book will spark many conversations.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review) [A] sharp blend of social commentary and memoir….  [Kendi offers] potent explorations of race, gender, colorism, and more… [and] his willingness to turn the lens on himself marks him as a courageous activist, leading the way to a more equitable society.
Library Journal


[S]ome terms are confusing and feel labored…. And his descriptions of his life… seem structured to set himself up as proof of his sociological declaratives…. Kendi does… inspire readers to consider whether ignorance or self-interest drives racist policies into reality.
Booklist


(Starred review) Kendi methodically examines racism through numerous lenses: power, biology, ethnicity, body, culture, and so forth…. This unsparing honesty helps readers, both white and people of color, navigate this difficult intellectual territory. Not an easy read but an essential one.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers Book Club Resources. They can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

(Resources by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)