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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
Wow, I am so glad I read this and led a book club discussion on it. Truly eye opening.
This is a passionate plead of an anti-racist who has been through his own metamorphosis. This is a surgical dissection of the malignant tumour that is racism in our societies.
All in all, a great book, even though sometimes it's a bit dry. The incorporation of Kendi's life story and his anti-racist awakening help hammered the points home and make them more relatable. I also appreciate his knowledge in illustrating the historical contexts and origins of racist policies and ideas, especially how the concept of race was created by Portuguese slave traders in a marketing campaign for dark-skinned African slaves. It is a power construct.
Kendi has brought forth many salient points in this books. The most important ones are as follows: anti-racism must be intersectional; racist policies come before racist ideas; and the source of racist policies are self-interest. I agree with all these three points.
However, I find chapters 10 and 11 somewhat lacking and underwhelming.
In chapter 10, Kendi was mixing up two different points.
The first point he was trying to make was: anti-White racism can exist among Black people. This is a fundamentally false argument. Yes, Black people can be radicalized by anti-White hate and even commit hate crimes or acts of terror that express this hate. However, this is like comparing a mouse to an elephant - technically they are both mammals; but they are also so different in scale that they are essentially incomparable. Anti-Black racism is an apparatus consists of history, politics, economies, cultures, and even pseudoscience. It is a huge oversight on Kendi's part to not make absolutely clear that no matter how Black people can be radicalized by anti-White hate, "reverse racism" is simply a faux concept. It even undermines the definition of "racist" that he put forth on Chapter 1 as someone who supports racist policies.
The second point I believe Kendi was trying to make was: White supremacy is, by nature, detrimental to White people. There is a class element here that needs to be fully fleshed out. White supremacy is a mechanism designed and executed by upper class White people to distract and dominate lower class White people. I'm sure there are books that can be written on this subject. At the very least, this point needs to be made in a separate chapter.
In chapter 11, Kendi should have discussed a bit more in depth the internalized racism that caused powerful Black people to participate in and exacerbate anti-Black racism. They may have power, but how much agency do they really have if they have been brainwashed with racist ideas?
In the last chapter, "Survival," Kendi reflected on the vital role of strategic activism in eradicating racism, and drew parallel from his own fight against stage 4 colon cancer. I find that a touching conclusion to this mentally and intellectually demanding discussion (I have had plenty of internal monologues trying to parse the arguments and ideas in this book. I have also discussed some of these with my spouse.). His passion and fervor are admirable. His action plan is concrete and actionable, even though we will have to inconvenience ourselves to do some of the things he proposed. I guess I'll be doing some thinking on my end, too.
All in all, a great book, even though sometimes it's a bit dry. The incorporation of Kendi's life story and his anti-racist awakening help hammered the points home and make them more relatable. I also appreciate his knowledge in illustrating the historical contexts and origins of racist policies and ideas, especially how the concept of race was created by Portuguese slave traders in a marketing campaign for dark-skinned African slaves. It is a power construct.
Kendi has brought forth many salient points in this books. The most important ones are as follows: anti-racism must be intersectional; racist policies come before racist ideas; and the source of racist policies are self-interest. I agree with all these three points.
However, I find chapters 10 and 11 somewhat lacking and underwhelming.
In chapter 10, Kendi was mixing up two different points.
The first point he was trying to make was: anti-White racism can exist among Black people. This is a fundamentally false argument. Yes, Black people can be radicalized by anti-White hate and even commit hate crimes or acts of terror that express this hate. However, this is like comparing a mouse to an elephant - technically they are both mammals; but they are also so different in scale that they are essentially incomparable. Anti-Black racism is an apparatus consists of history, politics, economies, cultures, and even pseudoscience. It is a huge oversight on Kendi's part to not make absolutely clear that no matter how Black people can be radicalized by anti-White hate, "reverse racism" is simply a faux concept. It even undermines the definition of "racist" that he put forth on Chapter 1 as someone who supports racist policies.
The second point I believe Kendi was trying to make was: White supremacy is, by nature, detrimental to White people. There is a class element here that needs to be fully fleshed out. White supremacy is a mechanism designed and executed by upper class White people to distract and dominate lower class White people. I'm sure there are books that can be written on this subject. At the very least, this point needs to be made in a separate chapter.
In chapter 11, Kendi should have discussed a bit more in depth the internalized racism that caused powerful Black people to participate in and exacerbate anti-Black racism. They may have power, but how much agency do they really have if they have been brainwashed with racist ideas?
In the last chapter, "Survival," Kendi reflected on the vital role of strategic activism in eradicating racism, and drew parallel from his own fight against stage 4 colon cancer. I find that a touching conclusion to this mentally and intellectually demanding discussion (I have had plenty of internal monologues trying to parse the arguments and ideas in this book. I have also discussed some of these with my spouse.). His passion and fervor are admirable. His action plan is concrete and actionable, even though we will have to inconvenience ourselves to do some of the things he proposed. I guess I'll be doing some thinking on my end, too.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Re-read for book club talks.
Read it and then do something.
Read it and then do something.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Interesting to read at points. The author is a good storyteller but this is more of a memoir with some data than a comprehensive reflection on the issues covered. At times there even seems to be a sort of anti-Asian prejudice.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A combo book. How racism is systemic and a memoir from the author about his journey from his views of anti-black to anti-white to anti-racism.
Very strongly and passionately written.
Very strongly and passionately written.
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced