How to Be an Antiracist (One World Essentials)

by Ibram X. Kendi

Racism is a powerful collection of racist policies that lead to racial inequity and are substantiated by racist ideas. Antiracism is a powerful collection of antiracist policies that lead to racial equity and are substantiated by antiracist ideas.

I wrote an entire chapter defining racist/antiracist policies and racist/antiracist ideas in order to define racism/antiracism, in order for these two sentences to make sense! We can’t understand a racial structure, be it racism or antiracism, without understanding its component parts: power, ideas and policies. But some people have disparaged me for using the terms “racist” and “antiracist” in these definitions, claiming I’m using the same words to define words. I have to remind myself that people commonly use the terms racism and racist interchangeably when they are distinct terms with distinct definitions. But perhaps I should have written this differently. Perhaps I should have written: “Racism is a powerful collection of policies that lead to racial inequity and are substantiated by ideas of racial hierarchy. Antiracism is a powerful collection of antiracist policies that lead to racial equity and are substantiated by antiracist ideas.” I don’t know. What do you think?