How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
I now see why this has been a bestseller. I mean, I loved his first book, so I figured I would like this one, too, but his first book was a straight up history, and this one was much more of a genre mish-mash. I didn’t at all realize going in that a large portion of it would be memoir, and that turned out to be the best part of the book! I finished this book on January 6th. It is ruining my reviews, so […]
How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
I came at this book obliquely. I think I tried reading Stamped from the Beginning a couple years ago, but it didn’t really grab me. Going into this, I only had a vague sense of what he’s arguing for here, but I wasn’t fully convinced. It just seemed a little silly to me that everything has to either be “racist” or “antiracist”. And I disagree with his idea of amending the Constitution to reflect this – the implications of that are…complicated. To back up a […]
Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
This book fits the “How to” square by teaching me how to be a better anti-racist. It is not enough to be against racism, one must be actively anti-racist, which is different. I am a white woman and in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, came to realize that I was woefully under educated about the problem of racism in America. At the time all sorts of recommended reading lists came out and Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas […]
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Bingo review 10: Book Club I work at a regional state university. Earlier this summer, we got an email containing a book club invitation that will begin a series of events designed to reflect each of the institution’s official values. Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist was chosen in association with “adaptability”, and probably also in association with the current focus on race and racism in the US. According to the accompanying flyer, this group will meet monthly throughout the fall semester digitally, […]
How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
This isn’t going to be a conventional review because it’s a book I’m going to be processing for a while. Some background info: I’m a cishet white guy. Aside from economics, I’m at the top of any privilege chart (and being middle class in the States, I’m pretty high up there too). I’ve done some reading, most of it theologically based, on racism, antiracism, and specifically the black experience in the States. I’m maybe more well versed than most people who share my skin color. […]
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
This review begins with a story. So more than two years ago, I heard Ibram X. Kendi talking on NPR about his book, Stamped from the Beginning, and I knew immediately that I wanted to read it. About six months later I bought it but it has been sitting on my to-read pile ever since—mainly because it’s a bit intimidating at 608 pages with extremely small type, but also my to-read pile is large. Flash forward to late last summer and I heard Kendi on […]
