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btempleton87's review against another edition
5.0
Incredibly well written. Amazing how it is equal parts memoir and antiracist guidebook. Super accessible and relatable.
emmajarvis's review against another edition
This was excellent as an audiobook. The author read it very enthusiastically, it kind of felt like an 11 hour ted talk. I really liked how the author combined stories from his own life with each topic discussed in the book, and just how honest he was about his own experience.
tori_tbr's review against another edition
4.0
I think if you know someone in your life who really finds sports-talk interesting and likes listening to sermons and you want them to get into Anti-Racist books, that they will like how the author wrote this. It mixes examples from his and his wife's life to illustrate many different types of systemic and policy-driven inequality in the United States. It's a great primer/first step for people who want to get more involved. Personally, I do not respond well to the way sermons and sports pep-talks typically go and while I respect his historical knowledge I just didn't care for the evangelical tone of this book.
I am still recommending it because I understand my taste isn't the end-all, be-all but if you have a personal aversion to evangelical-style speaking and writing then I would not recommend it to you.
I am still recommending it because I understand my taste isn't the end-all, be-all but if you have a personal aversion to evangelical-style speaking and writing then I would not recommend it to you.
erickibler4's review against another edition
5.0
A clear-eyed and instructive book.
Kendi’s logic and precision of language are impeccable. His capacity for self-criticism is both instructive and endearing. He has made substantial revisions to the earlier editions of this book in order to fine tune the precision of language.
Kendi’s definitions focus on racist policies and ideas rather than racist individuals. And he sets out his thesis that these policies and ideas don’t come from hatred and ignorance, but rather that hatred and ignorance follow the policies, which are promulgated due to self-interest by groups and individuals. That the self-interest really doesn’t apply to benefit all members of the group, but only to certain privileged members, a small percentage. The rest of the members of the supposedly benefitted group are actually harmed by racist policies.
Race is a construct, or a “mirage”. It has no biological basis in science. There is no “Black gene”, “White gene”, or “Asian gene”. But since racism is based on this “mirage”, we must act as though it is real so long as racist ideas are prevalent and powerful.
Kendi has been demonized in a lot of sectors, but rather than being fed a few of his sentences out of context and joining the haters, read his books and find out for yourself what he’s actually saying. I hope that you do, and that you come to agree with him.
An important book for our time.
Kendi’s logic and precision of language are impeccable. His capacity for self-criticism is both instructive and endearing. He has made substantial revisions to the earlier editions of this book in order to fine tune the precision of language.
Kendi’s definitions focus on racist policies and ideas rather than racist individuals. And he sets out his thesis that these policies and ideas don’t come from hatred and ignorance, but rather that hatred and ignorance follow the policies, which are promulgated due to self-interest by groups and individuals. That the self-interest really doesn’t apply to benefit all members of the group, but only to certain privileged members, a small percentage. The rest of the members of the supposedly benefitted group are actually harmed by racist policies.
Race is a construct, or a “mirage”. It has no biological basis in science. There is no “Black gene”, “White gene”, or “Asian gene”. But since racism is based on this “mirage”, we must act as though it is real so long as racist ideas are prevalent and powerful.
Kendi has been demonized in a lot of sectors, but rather than being fed a few of his sentences out of context and joining the haters, read his books and find out for yourself what he’s actually saying. I hope that you do, and that you come to agree with him.
An important book for our time.
timothyjmcl's review against another edition
3.0
This was more memoir than I was expecting. It requires some background on anti-racist thinking, but it’s a good guide for self-examination.
quenchgum's review against another edition
3.0
I struggled with this one.
I tabbed pages as I read it. I used green tabs for each of Kendi’s many thoughtful, nuanced points. I must have, like, fifty green tabs. That’s priceless. Worth the cost of admission.
I used red tabs for flaws that I saw in the book, and there must have been about fifty of those, too. Most of these "flaws" weren’t even to disagree with his core theses, but rather just my frustration that he was presenting strong ideas in weak ways. He left points open to attack where he could have instead acknowledged and successfully countered most of his expected critiques, even if at times that would mean admitting the limitations of his arguments. He lost credibility by pretending otherwise. When he did take the time to forestall pushback, he generally mentioned weak straw-man arguments as opposed to wrestling with the more nuanced arguments against his positions. He also repeatedly relied on emotional hot-button “examples” for his claims that rightfully tugged on heartstrings but otherwise didn’t honestly engage with the topic.
It’s an important time for people to be having these conversations, but I also feel like the single most productive thing anyone could do would be to *bridge the gap*. People are so polarized. You need to spell it out for them where you both acknowledge their point *AND* tell them what you think they’re still missing. Do all of these people deserve to have their hands held through the process? Probably not, no. But would it be helpful? Definitely. In my view, Kendi pretends there aren’t valid critiques of his positions, and I’m scared that may cause more harm/polarization than any benefit we get from his thoughtful insights that I slapped a billion green tabs on as I read.
IDK.
I tabbed pages as I read it. I used green tabs for each of Kendi’s many thoughtful, nuanced points. I must have, like, fifty green tabs. That’s priceless. Worth the cost of admission.
I used red tabs for flaws that I saw in the book, and there must have been about fifty of those, too. Most of these "flaws" weren’t even to disagree with his core theses, but rather just my frustration that he was presenting strong ideas in weak ways. He left points open to attack where he could have instead acknowledged and successfully countered most of his expected critiques, even if at times that would mean admitting the limitations of his arguments. He lost credibility by pretending otherwise. When he did take the time to forestall pushback, he generally mentioned weak straw-man arguments as opposed to wrestling with the more nuanced arguments against his positions. He also repeatedly relied on emotional hot-button “examples” for his claims that rightfully tugged on heartstrings but otherwise didn’t honestly engage with the topic.
It’s an important time for people to be having these conversations, but I also feel like the single most productive thing anyone could do would be to *bridge the gap*. People are so polarized. You need to spell it out for them where you both acknowledge their point *AND* tell them what you think they’re still missing. Do all of these people deserve to have their hands held through the process? Probably not, no. But would it be helpful? Definitely. In my view, Kendi pretends there aren’t valid critiques of his positions, and I’m scared that may cause more harm/polarization than any benefit we get from his thoughtful insights that I slapped a billion green tabs on as I read.
IDK.
annineamundsen's review against another edition
4.0
Very well written. Basic introduction to being antiracist, and he explains terms and concepts in a clear way. I wish there had been more actual tips on how to fight racism in general, not just our internalised racist ideas.
He has some really good points and some weaker ones, but overall I thought it was good. Relevant for people who want to be antiracist but don't know where to start. If you already have some knowledge about racism and how it works, it might feel to basic, at least that's how I felt. I'd like to read about the next step - "I'm an antiracist, now what?"
He has some really good points and some weaker ones, but overall I thought it was good. Relevant for people who want to be antiracist but don't know where to start. If you already have some knowledge about racism and how it works, it might feel to basic, at least that's how I felt. I'd like to read about the next step - "I'm an antiracist, now what?"
torabella216's review against another edition
4.0
The book I’ve been most excited to dive into this summer was also the book that intimidated me most. I’ve admired Ibram X. Kendi for years, since I stumbled through “Stamped from the Beginning” 3 years ago. The argument laid out in “How to Be an Antiracist,” as I understood it, seemed clear, familiar, and simple: racist is not a pejorative, but instead is a descriptive. Likewise, the notion that racism is born from greed, self-interest, and a desire to justify exploitation, was a concept presented to me before, in Kendi’s work and others’. What intrigued me most was the format established from the beginning with a chapter devoted to definitions, which presented perspectives, policies, actions, ideas, and sometimes people, as either assimilationist, segregationist, or antiracist. The first half of the book uses these terms to address different types of racism--biological racism, ethnic racism, cultural racism, behavioral racism, colorism, even anti-white racism--and their antiracism counterparts. Intertwining personal anecdotes with political history, black liberation theology, and cultural ethnographies, Kendi was able to make a book that could have read like a textbook, flow like a memoir.
I took the most out of chapters addressing “uplift suasion,” cultural-racisms, and whiteness. I learned a lot about the racialization of behavior and spaces and ideas. I learned about nuances in Black liberation and history. Meanwhile, I felt that the chapters on class, gender, and sexuality left much to be desired. At times, those components felt like boxes Kendi was told to check off in order to cover the topics at hand with adequate intersectionality, but when held up next to the content he is so well versed in, these chapters fell short for me.
Ultimately, I wouldn’t call this book an instruction manual to becoming an antiracist, as the title suggests. More than anything, this book takes you through the life of a very brilliant, complex, and introspective academic as he uses the theology and scholarship of his life’s research to reflect on his own racist ideas. In that way, Kendi doesn’t tell us how to work to become more antiracist, he shows us.
I took the most out of chapters addressing “uplift suasion,” cultural-racisms, and whiteness. I learned a lot about the racialization of behavior and spaces and ideas. I learned about nuances in Black liberation and history. Meanwhile, I felt that the chapters on class, gender, and sexuality left much to be desired. At times, those components felt like boxes Kendi was told to check off in order to cover the topics at hand with adequate intersectionality, but when held up next to the content he is so well versed in, these chapters fell short for me.
Ultimately, I wouldn’t call this book an instruction manual to becoming an antiracist, as the title suggests. More than anything, this book takes you through the life of a very brilliant, complex, and introspective academic as he uses the theology and scholarship of his life’s research to reflect on his own racist ideas. In that way, Kendi doesn’t tell us how to work to become more antiracist, he shows us.