Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Como ser Antirracista by Ibram X. Kendi

45 reviews

jojo_'s review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia

Moderate: Cancer, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, and Violence

Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Slavery, and War

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

3.5

This book was fine. I would say it's definitely on the introductory level in terms of books about racism/American racism, but lots of people are looking for that, and all power to them! This book is best appreciated as Kendi's internal examinations of his own journey grappling with the pervasiveness of racism and its intersections with other kinds of identity-based oppression as opposed to a guidebook for other people. There are two substantive points he makes that I take issue with: I think the chapter discussing racism within non-white groups has a misplaced assumption when it critiques the idea that "Black people can't be racist." It delves into the ways that Black folks (and other non-white folks) can perpetuate anti-Black racism through thoughts and actions, which certainly is a thing that happens. But I feel like that statement is better understood as people saying that POC cannot perpetuate racism against white people, not other POCs, because of how the power dynamics are structured. So I think that argument was a bit disingenuous. I also have been learning from folks in disability activism who critique the comparisons of racism to cancer or other diseases. I understand that Kendi was and is facing cancer in very personal ways, but the analogy of an illness that was not imposed by choice to a societal problem that very much was has its limitations. People do not choose to give others cancer (although there's an argument that racist and classist policies actually have given people cancer or higher rates) but many people make the choice every day to uphold racism. 

Small nit-pick: the definitions that introduce each chapter were a bit too schtick-y for me, and I thought they actually were a bit alienating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Colonisation, Hate crime, Medical content, Murder, Racism, and Racial slurs

kylieqrada's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

12/5⭐s. Ibram X. Kendi is IT, folks. I will unquestioningly consume everything he puts out, up to and including his computer post-it notes. I bet they would be everything. All that being said, I really really really really love How To Be An Antiracist. An engaging mix of historical fact, personal experience, and antiracist philosophy, I definitely highlighted the vast majority of this book and will be pressing it into anyone's hands who will receive it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, and Trafficking

bea_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

I really enjoyed this book. It reaffirmed a lot of what I learned through anthropology and queer spaces and gives helpful language. I think this book might be out of reach for some people without a more advanced education in this area since he doesn't explain who some people are or what their ideas mean, but with a healthy background this book is great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Racism, and Racial slurs

ashleyreads88's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

This book was different than I expected and in a good way.  How To Be An Antiracist is more autobiographical than a "how-to" book, and which made it an interesting, engaging read.  I loved reading about Ibrams's experiences, thoughts, feelings, and opinions.  I also very much enjoyed the definitions at the beginning of the chapters and the ways to be an antiracist throughout the book.  I learned a lot from reading How To Be An Antiracist and am excited to read more of Ibram's works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Homophobia, Cancer, and Police brutality

melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

4.5

This book taught me a ton and I really enjoyed it as well.

Kendi does an excellent job interweaving historical examples, personal examples, and well-explained definitions into each chapter to teach about the many intersectionalities of racism and other -ims. 

My only complaint is that I felt the chapters on gender and sexuality were severely lacking compared to the rest of the book, and it was very noticeable that these were not up to par.

I felt this book taught a lot and I look forward to reading more of Kendi's work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Cancer, Sexism, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Police brutality

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

"Americans have long been trained to see the deficiencies of people rather than policy. It's a pretty easy mistake to make: People are in our faces. Policies are distant. We are particularly poor at seeing the policies lurking behind the struggles of people.”

Ibram Kendi takes a good hard look at racism in this book. He discussed how racism tries to turn the word "racist" into an epethet so racist people can be mad about being called racist, and speaks at length about fighting racist policies that create racial inequity. He also spends quite a lot of time examining his own racism (and other things like homophobia) in his past endeavors to fight racism and how he's learned from that. I recommend this read, but it may be hard for anyone who's lives have been touched by cancer (discussed in the ending). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, and Racism

Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexism, and Misogyny

Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Forced institutionalization

alayamorning's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Transphobia, and Violence

Minor: Drug use

schenkepanky's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Each chapter tackles a different type of racist power and policy - it's blended memoir and US history that challenges and overturns so many common and misguided tropes we carry about race. It's mostly about the history of Blacks in America, but the beginning chapters outlining his ideas about racism vs. active anti-racism (i.e., there is no such thing as passive "not racist") is universally applicable and necessary reading. 

I listened to the audio version narrated by the author. His narration is well done - stylized and slow at about 11 hours. Listening at about 1.5 speed felt about the pace of other books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Slavery, Racial slurs, and Hate crime

jhpepper's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, and Violence