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A review by rubybooks
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.5
This is the second book I've read by Kendi, and it did not disappoint. I bought a physical copy, but I really enjoyed listening to Stamped from the Beginning via audiobook so I decided to do the same with this one. Kendi narrates it himself, and this really adds to the personal notes he weaves through his analysis. How to be an Antiracist felt like it had elements of a memoir mixed in, which I loved because I enjoy reading about personal experiences and how they intersect with theory.
I loved how transparent Kendi was about his own harmful views and actions in the past, and the ways he has changed his own views on racism and antiracism. I think it's so important to use racist as a descriptor, because that leaves room for people to also be antiracist and choose to change their impact on the world. I'm still not 100% sure on where I stand with some issues, but this book has really got me thinking - like about using the term institutional racism and whether it minimises the actions of individuals that can be changed.
Ibram X. Kendi also takes time to mention intersectionality and how that comes into play with class racism, gender racism etc. He speaks about how he was questioned by people about what concrete antiracist actions he was taking, which in turn made me reflect on what I can be doing beyond my own reading and research. Especially in today's climate, a lot of people claim not to be racist, but this dismisses our own personal agency in choosing to be racist or antiracist - and passivity does not equal to not being racist.
I didn't love this quite as much as Stamped, purely because of the sheer amount of information I learned while reading the latter. Regardless, this was still an amazing book that people should read, and I'd especially recommend the audiobook. The main thing I took from this is to be open minded in your approach to antiracism - as Kendi said himself, even within antiracism there are different approaches and disagreements. Be aware of discussions of racism, colourism, murder, homophobia, and cancer. 4.5 stars.
I loved how transparent Kendi was about his own harmful views and actions in the past, and the ways he has changed his own views on racism and antiracism. I think it's so important to use racist as a descriptor, because that leaves room for people to also be antiracist and choose to change their impact on the world. I'm still not 100% sure on where I stand with some issues, but this book has really got me thinking - like about using the term institutional racism and whether it minimises the actions of individuals that can be changed.
Ibram X. Kendi also takes time to mention intersectionality and how that comes into play with class racism, gender racism etc. He speaks about how he was questioned by people about what concrete antiracist actions he was taking, which in turn made me reflect on what I can be doing beyond my own reading and research. Especially in today's climate, a lot of people claim not to be racist, but this dismisses our own personal agency in choosing to be racist or antiracist - and passivity does not equal to not being racist.
I didn't love this quite as much as Stamped, purely because of the sheer amount of information I learned while reading the latter. Regardless, this was still an amazing book that people should read, and I'd especially recommend the audiobook. The main thing I took from this is to be open minded in your approach to antiracism - as Kendi said himself, even within antiracism there are different approaches and disagreements. Be aware of discussions of racism, colourism, murder, homophobia, and cancer. 4.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Murder, Homophobia, and Cancer