''How to Be an Antiracist'' is a 2019 nonfiction book by American author and historian Ibram X. Kendi, which combines

social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...

and

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

. It was published under

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

's One World imprint. The book discusses concepts of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

and Kendi's proposals for

anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

individual actions and systemic changes.

Background

Kendi is the founder of the Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University in Washington, D.C. ''How to Be an Antiracist'' expands on ideas from Kendi's previous book, '' Stamped from the Beginning'', which won the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

in 2016.

Synopsis

The book is organized into chapters that each examine a different theme through a racial lens. These themes include: "dueling consciousness", "power", "biology", "ethnicity", "body", "culture", "behavior", "color", "white", "black", "class", "space", "gender", and "sexuality". Kendi relates his evolving concept of racism through the events of his own life over four decades, touching on observations and experiences as a child, young adult, student, and professor, from classes he has taught, via contemporary events such as the O. J. Simpson robbery case and 2000 United States presidential election, and through historical events such as the scientific proposals of

polygenism Polygenism is a theory of human origins which posits the view that the human races are of different origins (''polygenesis''). This view is opposite to the idea of monogenism, which posits a single origin of humanity. Modern scientific views no ...

in Europe in the 1600s and

racial segregation in the United States In the United States, racial segregation is the systematic separation of facilities and services such as housing, healthcare, education, employment, and transportation on racial grounds. The term is mainly used in reference to the legally or ...

. Kendi further details the manifestations of racism, such as

scientific racism Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscience, pseudoscientific belief that empirical evidence exists to support or justify racism (racial discrimination), racial inferiority, or racial superiority.. "Few tragedies ...

colorism Discrimination based on skin color, also known as colorism, or shadeism, is a form of prejudice and/or discrimination in which people who share similar ethnicity traits or perceived race are treated differently based on the social implications ...

and their intersection with demographics including gender, class and sexuality, arguing that racism is founded in both patriarchy and

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

. Kendi argues that the opposite of ''racist'' is ''

'' rather than simply ''non-racist'', and that there is no middle ground in the struggle against racism; one is either actively confronting racial inequality or allowing it to exist through action or inaction. He defines ''racism'' as any policy that creates inequitable outcomes between people of different skin colors; for instance, affirmative action in college admissions is anti-racist in that is designed to remedy past racial discrimination, while inaction on

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

is racist because of the disproportionately severe impacts of climate change in the predominantly non-white Global South. Kendi defines a racist person as anyone who supports racist policies "through their actions or inaction or expressing a racist idea", while an anti-racist person is someone who supports anti-racist policies "through their actions or expressing an antiracist idea". He draws upon what he describes as his own lifelong racism to argue that anyone, regardless of race, can be racist when they express harmful stereotypes about entire groups. Kendi relates how he once accepted certain stereotypes about black people, such as that black youth devalue education, and how he once wore colored contact lenses in order to not "look black". He calls such

internalized racism Internalized racism is a form of internalized oppression, defined by sociologist Karen D. Pyke as the "internalization of racial oppression by the racially subordinated." In her study ''The Psychology of Racism, '' Robin Nicole Johnson emphasizes ...

"the real black on black crime". Kendi disagrees with the prejudice plus power model of racism, which would not allow for Black racism. Finally, Kendi suggests models for anti-racist individual actions and systemic (i.e. policy) changes. He uses the metaphor of racism as a

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

to argue for society-wide "treatments" such as ending racist policies (as one might remove a tumor), "exercising" anti-racist ideas, consuming "healthy food for thought", and being vigilant toward a recurrence of racism "before it can grow and threaten the body politic". Rather than presenting a how-to guide, Kendi uses his own experience as an example of shifting one's focus from the personal to the systemic regarding racial issues. He argues that "being antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination".

Sales

''How to Be an Antiracist'' was named one of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

''s "must-read" books of 2019. In June 2020, following

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

in the wake of the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...

, sales of the book surged, and it became a best seller on

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. The book was listed eighth and fifth in ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''s hardcover non-fiction list on May 30 and June 6, respectively. It was listed third in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

''s best-selling books list of June 10. The book reached #1 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller List in Hardcover Nonfiction list for sales in the week ending June 6. By March 24, 2021, it had spent 45 weeks on the list.

Critical reception

The book received starred reviews in ''Publishers Weekly'', '' Library Journal'', and '' Kirkus Reviews''. ''Publishers Weekly'' described Kendi's prose as "thoughtful, sincere and polished" and the book's ideas as "boldly articulated" and "historically informed", stating that the book would "spark many conversations". ''Kirkus Reviews'' found it to be "not an easy read but an essential one". ''Library Journal'' said that " endi'sstories serv as a springboard for potent explorations of race, gender, ndcolorism". A review in '' Journal of Communication Inquiry'' said the book "succeeds at fitting into many genres including autobiography, memoir, and even how-to guide" and that it was "commendable" how Kendi presents cultural concepts through stories from his own life. A review in the journal ''

Urban Education ''Urban Education'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers the field of urban education. The journal's editor-in-chief is H. Richard Milner (Vanderbilt University). It was established in 1965 and is published by SAGE Publicatio ...

'' described the book as "necessary for all echelons of education". Black studies scholar Jeffrey C. Stewart called it the "most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind". Professor of civil rights law

Randall Kennedy Randall LeRoy Kennedy (born September 10, 1954) is an American law professor at Harvard University and author. He is the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law and his research focuses on the intersection of racial conflict and legal institutions in ...

said the book displays candor, independence, and self-criticality, but that it has major flaws, especially being internally contradictory and poorly reasoned. Ericka Taylor of

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

described the book as "clear and compelling" and "accessible", saying it "exemplifies a commitment to clarity". A review in ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' called the book "thought-provoking and insightful" and an "important and necessary contribution" toward understanding racism in the United States. Journalist

Afua Hirsch Afua Hirsch (born 1981) is a British writer and broadcaster. She has worked as a journalist for '' The Guardian'' newspaper, and was the Social Affairs and Education Editor for Sky News from 2014 until 2017. Early life Afua Hirsch was born in ...

writes that Kendi shows "honesty in linking his personal struggles" to the book's subject, which Hirsch describes as "brilliantly simple" and "dogmatic", but that the book's personal anecdotes seem incomplete and the style resembles that of a textbook too much. It was the Book of the Day in a review for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' in which Colin Grant found that the book "encourages self-reflection" and described the writing style as "calm" but "insightful". Commentator Andrew Sullivan wrote that the book has the character of a religious tract with overly simplistic distinctions between good and evil that cannot be falsified, and is sparse on practical suggestions. Behavior geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden argues that while "race is not a valid biological category", Kendi is nonetheless incorrect for stating in the book that "there are no genetic differences between groups of people who identify as different races". Harden points to this as an example of "moral commitments to racial equality" being "on shaky ground if they depend on exact genetic sameness across human populations". Geneticist Joseph L. Graves Jr. calls this a

straw man A straw man (sometimes written as strawman) is a form of argument and an informal fallacy of having the impression of refuting an argument, whereas the real subject of the argument was not addressed or refuted, but instead replaced with a false o ...

, writing in ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

'' that Harden misses "a central point: human populations do not differ substantially in the frequencies of genetic variants that determine their complex behaviour, including intelligence and personality."

References

External links