Reviews

Com ser antiracista by Ibram X. Kendi

summerc_reads's review against another edition

challenging informative fast-paced

4.0

“Racist ideas love believers, not thinkers.”

This book has been on my TBR for years. When it appeared as a suggestion in my audiobook app, I snapped it up. And wow was it eye-opening!

I have never believed myself to be racist and I have always been intensely aware the privileges I have been afforded simply for being white. What I did not understand was the difference between being “not racist” and “anti-racist”.  “Not racist” indicates neutrality - that you aren’t racist but neither do you actively take steps to fight against racist ideas. “Anti-racist” is the opposite of racist and means you oppose racist ideas in all forms.  (Man, I hope I understood that properly).

I’m sure the printed book is wonderful, but the audiobook was phenomenal. It felt more personal and more relatable because it was read by the author.  It isn’t an easy read by any means, but it was educational while still being engaging. 

jessalongi's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

daumari's review against another edition

5.0

This is a crucial read, though I feel like it's the sort of book to be gifted or loaned to people who need it that otherwise wouldn't pick it up. Part autobiographical (as it helps to identify your own history of thought and trace what influenced your development, especially being raised in an inherently biased system), part framework to identify the ways racist policies influence our ideas, Kendi stresses that being "not-racist" is not enough, that the only opposition to racism is anti-racism. Otherwise, we tacitly endorse racist policies by supporting the status quo, typically because it's convenient for us.

Kendi also goes over how yes, people of color can be racist as well, because again, it's easy to fall into the idea of supporting your 'team' without noticing that policies disproportionately affect us not only along racial lines but also class and gender, and how assimilation codifies power into a specific group to the detriment of others. Really worthwhile read, especially to challenge and check your own viewpoint.

jlchabotte's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

bhnmt61's review against another edition

5.0

Hard to feel like I’m capable of “rating” a book like this. Passionate, heartfelt, damning, and at the same time, more thoughtful and self-reflective than some of the other books on race that I’ve read.

morgansolo's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad

4.5

jimmyviera's review against another edition

5.0

Everyone should read this.

mfeezell's review against another edition

2.0

I have a lot of conflicting thoughts about this book, and especially how it gets used in corporate and academic circles. It really means well though.

aespaldon24's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

2.0

Unfortunately I found this difficult to get through. I expected something different from this book (actionable steps on how to combat racism, as it was titled “how to”) from what I got (a memoir with some definitions and background information, a lot of which was already familiar to me) I also found the narration very grating due to his constant awkward pauses and tone of voice. There was still some enlightening information in here, but overall it wasn’t for me. 

ladyphoenixqueen's review against another edition

1.0

Snooze fest. The content was meh, and the author should NOT have been the reader for the audiobook. He definitely should have hired someone else. His awkward pauses in the middle of sentences and weird inflections were really distracting. I only learned a couple of interesting facts - not enough to warrant the amount of time spent listening to the audiobook. Don't waste your time.