How to Be an Antiracist

Ibram X. Kendi

Aug 2019 · Sold by One World

About this eBook

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from the Beginning comes a “groundbreaking” (Time) approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society and in ourselves—now updated, with a new preface.

“The most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.”—The New York Times

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—The New York Times Book Review, Time, NPR, The Washington Post, Shelf Awareness, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews

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 its 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 possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous 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.

Ratings and reviews

DO NOT BELIEVE THE ONE STAR REVIEWS. Writing that this book endorses "black power" or "black superiority" is a clear indication that the reviewer DID NOT READ THE BOOK. Dr. Kendi writes beautifully, succinctly, and perspicuously, drawing from his own experiences as one who held racist ideas first against BLACKS, then against whites before understanding and then elaborating the ideology of antiracism. His own words from chapter one: "An antiracist idea is any idea that suggests the racial groups are equals in all their apparent differences—that there is nothing right or wrong with any racial group." Any critic who claims to have read the book and still believes that Dr. Kendi has his own agenda of racial superiority either has their own agenda to support by deliberately misrepresenting his writing or extraordinarily poor reading comprehension. Given the abundance of spelling and grammatical errors amongst the one-star reviews, either is certainly genuinely possible.

Ironically the 1 star reviews are folks who clearly have not paid attention to the book. The beauty of this well written, well organized book on anti racism is that it is not just an entertaining book, which it is, it is also an amazing guide book to how we can all do better for ourselves and for all members of society. I will be re reading this book multiple times. It is nuanced, brilliant and much needed. ❤️❤️❤️

This book does an excellent job of outlining racism vs. antiracism. Kendi deconstructs the racist ideals that contributed to his own racism in his lifetime, and gives the reader concrete examples of how to be antiracist when faced with something similar. This book also drives home the need to remember what the true enemy is: racist policies that support, allow, and reinforce racism in everyday life, rather than placing the blame or the burden to change on any individual or group. Kendi makes it clear from the beginning: “Racist” and “antiracist” are like peelable name tags that are placed and replaced based on what someone is doing or not doing, supporting or expressing in each moment. These are not permanent tattoos. No one becomes a racist or antiracist. We can only strive to be one or the other. It is sadly very apparent that the one-star reviews are from people who either didn't read this book at all, or who somehow missed the point altogether.

About the author

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor. He is the host of the new action podcast Be Antiracist. Dr. Kendi is the author of many highly acclaimed books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest-ever winner of that award. He has also produced five straight #1 New York Times bestsellers, including How to Be an Antiracist, Antiracist Baby, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored by Jason Reynolds. In 2020, Time magazine named Dr. Kendi one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the Genius Grant.