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How to Be an Antiracist

Ibram X. Kendi

Start date: July 1, 2020

Finish date: July 28, 2020

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How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
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How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

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May 02, 2020 Amanda rated it it was ok

Shelves: 06-politics, 01-2010s, 04-nonfic, 07-american, 06-history, 03-nonfic, 06-activism, 06-crime, 06-feminism, 06-capitalism

We do not have to be fearless like Harriet Tubman to be antiracist. We have to be courageous to be antiracist. Courage is the strength to do what is right in the face of fear, as the anonymous philosopher tells us. I gain insight into what's right from antiracist ideas. I gain strength from fear. While many people are fearful of what could happen if they resist, I am fearful of what could happen if I don't resist. I am fearful of cowardice. Cowardice is the inability to amass the strength to

We do not have to be fearless like Harriet Tubman to be antiracist. We have to be courageous to be antiracist. Courage is the strength to do what is right in the face of fear, as the anonymous philosopher tells us. I gain insight into what's right from antiracist ideas. I gain strength from fear. While many people are fearful of what could happen if they resist, I am fearful of what could happen if I don't resist. I am fearful of cowardice. Cowardice is the inability to amass the strength to do what is right in the face of fear. Ad racist power has been terrorizing cowardice into us for generations.

The strongest part of Kendi's How to Be an Antiracist is for sure his own personal journey and his call to actively choose to be better and antiracist. Alternating between presenting what it means to be antiracist relating to certain themes (power, biology, culture, etc.) and his own personal story, Kendi takes the reader on his own journey, as he says, from anti-Black to anti-White, to antiracist, he urges the reader to consider their own position on these matters. In the final chapters, we learn about Kendi's views on activism, and how he participates in it.

Overall I agree with many of his major points. The idea that we need to focus on implementing policies to close the gaps (wealth, employment, education, etc.) between racial groups is a sound one, and that we need to call out policymakers and policies that are causing these disparities is also a sound one, if not obvious. He also makes the case that racist policies are not a consequence of racism, but rather that policies that favors certain racial groups over others needs a justification and that racist ideas is then used as justification. Or in other words, racist ideas are created to justify policies that benefit racial groups over other racial groups. It is of course possible (and even likely at times) that the opposite is also true; racists can implement policies for the sole purpose of discriminate against a racial group. It's the 'what came first, the hen or the egg' conundrum. Which makes it important to focus on racist policies and policymakers as a tool to erase the 'need' of using racist ideas as justification, and to implement policies that closes the gaps between racial groups.

Kendi covers a wide range of areas but often keeps the analysis of them separate, and in doing so, his ideas at times appear contradictory. For example, in the chapter on culture, Kendi asks us to

see all cultures in all their differences as on the same level, as equals. When we see cultural difference, we are seeing cultural difference -- nothing more, nothing less.

Which sounds fair and good, but is it true, or even possible? Kendi doesn't stay long enough on this topic, if you ask me. Because if antiracist is what we should all strive to be, and thus implying being antiracist is the best possible ideological stance, then isn't a culture that isn't antiracist, well, at least not optimal? And if so, is a culture that isn't antiracist equal to a culture that is antiracist? In a later chapter, on gender, Kendi makes the case that

To truly be antiracist is to be feminist. To truly be feminist is to be antiracist.

Isn't it the same contradiction then, that if a culture contains antifeminist elements, then that culture is not antiracist. Or should we consider these ideas as difference of ideas, nothing more, nothing less? Let's take a different example: pollution and damage to the environment. The western world (and its culture) has policies and a culture that contribute to the pollution of our planet, and this will mainly affect non-White populations, causing inequity between racial groups. Can we not say that this culture is worse than other policies and cultures that do not contribute to the damage of our planet? According to Kendi, this is on one hand simply a cultural difference, nothing more, nothing less. But he also argues that policies that create inequity between racial groups are racist policies, and thus a bad thing. My purpose here is not to claim that one culture is better or worse than another, just point out the weakness in Kendi's structuring of the book, and perhaps also his arguments. Which is why I had wished he had stayed on some topics, this one for example, longer, and put them into context of his overall thesis.

Another point that weakens this book is that I found Kendi's use of sources irregular. Sometimes when he seems to be stating a fact, there's no source. For example, he writes that "Americans lost trillions during the Great Recession, which was largely triggered by financial crimes of staggering enormity." While I think most of us agree that the financial crisis was one epic clusterfuck with incompetent people taking far too big risks, and one that should, and could have, been avoided, Kendi's claim that it was largely triggered by financial crimes should have a clear source of what these crimes were, and who committed them. But there's no source for this, none at all. In another case, the only information regarding a quote's origin is, "as the Urban Institute stated in a more recent report", no year, author, title, or url for the report. (It was possible to find the report online, but it should be clearly referenced in the book.) Because for the sources he does present, they include title, author, year, urls, or pages, which is how it should be.

So while I think overall Kendi's ideas are sound and good, the ideas at times appear contradictory or they don't quite reach the point where they are fully realized. As mentioned in the beginning, Kendi's main strength is that he, in the end, infuses the reader with a clear message: that we need to actively strive to be better, focus on holding policymakers accountable for their policies that are harmful and continues to create an unequal society, and to keep trying even when times are hard. Kendi's own history is just an added bonus, as he becomes quite personal at times, and is honest and open about his own failures of being antiracist at all times. ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Jun 25, 2020 Ashley Jacobson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-history, read-biography, read-learning-education-about-books, read-psychology-and-parenting, read-politics-econ-law-current, read-leadership-and-business

4.5 stars- He covers everything. Problems with policies, attitudes, ideas, etc... within all communities and among all races. I don’t agree with a point or two that he makes about politics, but if you listen to his ideas, most are reasonable and worth considering. And his ideas on racism are all inclusive and easy to understand and digest. This book is accessible to anyone. It’s part story of his life, part solution. He uses experiences in his life and in the history or our country to show the d ...more

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Jun 02, 2022 Kaitlyn Nystul rated it really liked it

Five stars for the content of this book! I love the way all the chapters start out with simple definitions of the topic. The theories and ideas were laid out in a clear and concise way. I’ve read a lot of anti racism books in the past 6 months and this is probably favorite in terms of the way he defines racist and anti racist policies and ideas in clear cut ways.

But I had a little trouble keeping track of where Kendi was in his life as he wound his personal stories through the book - that might ...more

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Jan 22, 2021 Laura H L rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-club, non-fiction, catchup-20, anti-racism

An excellent book! This is the book on racism that I needed to read. Kendi's narrative as well as his academic arguments come together to explain our collective struggle with racist policies that promote racism. Reading his reflections on his own racist ideas and how he learned as he interacted with key individuals who challenged his thinking around race, gender, sexuality, etc. Policy needs to change before we change the hearts and minds of the majority of people. That is what history has taugh ...more

1 like · Like · see review