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Moderate: Cancer, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation
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).
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism
Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality
Moderate: Cancer, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry
Minor: Drug use
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.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief
Graphic: Cancer, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism
Minor: Rape, Mass/school shootings
At the same time, though, I personally struggled with How To Be An Antiracist. This book is a very slow read because of how packed full of information and formal studies and explanations it is. Kendi's choice to include relatable stories and a personal narrative alongside this mountain of information was a good one - it picked up the flow enough to urge me forward when I felt like I was drowning.
The weight and quantity of information isn't bad, mind you. It's necessary. But it is heavy and reading this book was a very slow process for me as I tried to catalogue everything and reflect on it. How To Be An Antiracist challenges its readers to look at the information and reflect on their own beliefs and reactions. This is best read by someone who really does want to be an antiracist, not someone who is picking up the book because they think they should.
Depending on where you are in your personal journey, some of the chapters may feel redundant or unhelpful. Everyone starts from a different place, and we all have different daily struggles. If you've been working on antiracism for a while, maybe chapters like "Definitions", "Biology", and "Ethnicity" don't offer much to you (other than reiterating practices you have already put in place). I personally resonated more with the latter half of the book. Every once in a while, I would come across a statement or sentiment that would stick with me - like the idea that we aren't one-or-the-other, but constantly striving to make antiracist choices in every decision. Like the comparison of racism to cancer.
If the early chapters don't hook you in, I encourage folks to keep reading. Each chapter is an individual essay to be mulled on and processed. And we are, none of us, perfect. There is no person who had finished the journey and achieved excellence - sometimes, we all falter. We will inevitably fail, and when we do, it's important to get back up and brush ourself off, make amends, and be better next time.
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Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality