How to be an Antiracist: a review

EB: I am writing this as a white woman in Canada learning about antiracism and confronting my own privileged naïveté and racism. Any missteps in this post are utterly accidental and borne of ignorance, and I invite feedback. 

Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to be an Antiracist (and other books) is one of the foremost academics working in the field of antiracism in America. He founded The Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University, and recently moved it to Boston University (where it has been renamed the Center for Antiracist Research). He is a professor of History, and has taught Africana Studies and African American Studies. He has written umpteen articles, given a TED Talk, and is the go-to guy on antiracism for American news and late-night shows. Besides all of that scholarship, Kendi has the lived experience of being a Black man in America. 

In this detailed - almost granular - primer on racism in America, Kendi uses his life story so far (he is only in his 30s) to frame his growth in knowledge and to link chapters. In some ways, this is not necessary, as most topics stand alone, but it does add some personal interest. I was especially thrilled to read that Dr. Yaba Blay, who has been essential listening for me all summer, was one of two women who taught Kendi about Black feminism, queer Black life, and his blindness to both. Black women are leading the current phase of the fight for racial justice in America, and they don't get the same air time as men. That mention really stood out for me. 

Kendi knows his stuff, but the whole time I was reading Antiracist I was wishing I had read it before I read Between the World and Me. Kendi is a scholar and a teacher. Coates is a writer. Kendi breaks things down, gives multiple examples, and builds up new definitions. Coates pulls you into his world. Both books are about racism and structured as life-stories, though Coates' book, because it is a letter to his son, is warm, personal, impassioned, and compelling. It is also visceral and raw at times, something Kendi never approaches but that to me feels appropriate for this conversation. 

Kendi is a good place to start. If hearing that race is made up (and understanding that that is NOT the same as saying you are "colour blind") is new to you, start with Kendi. This is not an either-or conversation read them both, and other things as well. White people need to be learning about racism from those who experience it, and since no one person speaks for their community, reading multiple perspectives is essential.  

On that note, please seek out Canadian, UK, Caribbean and other writers about racism, BIPOC* fiction writers, and podcasts with BIPOC hosts. The American experience is not the only experience, and finding alternative perspectives sometimes takes some digging.

If you want more of a reading list, Victoria Alexander shares one on her website. It includes articles and books, and covers everything from fiction to biography to history: Antiracism reading list.

*BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour.