''Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America'' is a non-fiction book about race in the United States by the American historian

Ibram X. Kendi Ibram Xolani Kendi (born Ibram Henry Rogers, August 13, 1982) is an American author, professor, Anti-racism, anti-racist activist, and historian of race and discriminatory policy in America. In July 2020, he assumed the position of director of th ...

, published April 12, 2016 by Bold Type Books, an imprint of PublicAffairs. The book won the

National Book Award for Nonfiction The National Book Award for Nonfiction is one of five U.S. annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by U.S. citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers". The panelists ...

. The book also has two "remixes" for children, ''Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You'' and ''Stamped (For Teens ): Racism, Antiracism, and You.''

Reception

''Stamped from the Beginning'' received a starred review from

Kirkus ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

, as well as the following accolades: *

winner (2016) *

National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction The National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, established in 1976,Hurston/Wright Legacy Award The Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards program honors Black writers in the United States and around the globe for literary achievement. Introduced in 2001, the Legacy Award was the first national award presented to Black writers by a national organizatio ...

for Nonfiction nominee (2017) * NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction (2017)

''Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You''

Kendi wrote ''Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You'' with

Jason Reynolds Jason Reynolds (born December 6, 1983) is an American author of novels and poetry for young adult and middle-grade audience. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in neighboring Oxon Hill, Maryland, Reynolds found inspiration in rap and had an ea ...

, "remixing" ''Stamped from the Beginning'' for a younger audience. The book was published March 10, 2020 by

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

Origins

''Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You'' is adapted from ''Stamped: From the Beginning'', originally written by Kendi. The first book, published in 2016, focuses on historical figures. However, ''Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You'' follows a chronological format. Kendi reached out to Reynolds to collaborate on a chronological version after seeing success with his first book. Reynolds first declined Kendi's proposal, adamant that he was a fiction writer. It took a writing style that made ''Stamped'' "not a history book" to get Reynolds on board with the idea.

Structure

Kendi and Reynolds insist throughout the book that "it is not a history book" and writes in a casual, easy-to-understand manner, using slang and pop culture references to cater to the younger audience. There are five sections split by time periods: 1415–1728, 1743–1826, 1826–1879, 1868–1963, and 1963-today. The chapters vary in length and there are 28 in total. In these chapters, Kendi and Reynolds focus on important, often overlooked figures and events to illustrate the development of racist ideas throughout the history of the United States. Throughout the book, Kendi and Reynolds return to the themes of racists, assimilationists, and antiracists, and the book ends by encouraging readers to take what they have learned from the book and to become antiracist.

Reception

''Stamped'' is a

New York Times Bestseller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

and received numerous positive reviews, including starred reviews from

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

and

. Kirkus also named it one of the best books of 2020. The print book has received the following accolades: * Goodreads Choice Award for Nonfiction (2020) * Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth (2020) * Kirkus Prize finalist (2020) * Notable Children's Books (2021) * NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Youth / Teens nomination The audiobook has received the following accolades: *

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

Top 10

Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults The American Library Association's Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, formerly Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults, is a recommendation list of audiobooks presented yearly by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) division. The Y ...

(2017) *

Booklist Editors' Choice Booklist Editors Choice is an annual list compiled and reviewed by Booklist's editorial staff as the best adult and youth books and videos, and audiobooks. Booklist is a publication "that has been published by the American Library Association ...

: Youth Audio (2020) *

Odyssey Award The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production is an annual award conferred by the American Library Association upon the publisher of "the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United State ...

Honor Audiobook (2021) Despite the above, in 2020, ''Stamped'' landed the second position on the American Library Association's list of the most commonly banned and challenged books in the United States. The book was banned, challenged, and/or restricted "because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains 'selective storytelling incidents' and does not encompass racism against all people."

''Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You''

''Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You,'' published May 11, 2021 by Little, Brown Young Readers. The book was written by

and

, illustrated by

Rachelle Baker Rachel ( he, רָחֵל, Modern: Raḥel, Tiberian: Rāḫēl, Rāḥēl), meaning " ewe", is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin, popularized by the biblical figure Rachel, the wife of Israelite patriarch Jacob. Ashkenazi Jewish matronymic ...

, and adapted by

Sonja Cherry-Paul Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...

. ''Stamped (for Kids)'' is a ''New York Times'' Bestseller and received a starred review from

References

External links

Interview
at New Books Network

at Slate
Interview with Kendi on ''Stamped from the Beginning'' at the Tucson Festival of Books, March 11, 2017

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

Interview with Kendi on ''Stamped from the Beginning'' at Printers Row Lit Fest, June 10, 2017

Interview with Kendi on ''Stamped from the Beginning'' at the Busboys and Poets Bookstore, August 29, 2017

{{Jason Reynolds 2016 non-fiction books English-language books Anti-racism in the United States Books about race and ethnicity Books by Ibram X. Kendi