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A review by aleawrites
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi, Jason Reynolds
5.0
"Hatred has a way of convincing us that half love is whole. What I mean by that is we—all of us—have to fight against performance and lean into participation. We have to be participants. Active. We have to be more than audience members sitting comfortably in the stands of morality, shouting, "WRONG!" That's too easy. Instead, we must be players on the field, on the court, in our classrooms and communities, trying to do right. Because it takes a whole hand—both hands—to grab hold of hatred."
Roughly a month has passed since I finished this book and I've moved on to other reads about Antiracism, with my most recent purchase being Stamped The Remix's parent book, "Stamped From the Beginning." I have seen the Best Seller's shelf at my workplace shift about six or so times but I've not stopped recommending this book. It doesn't even live on that shelf.
—
"Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You," is a collaboration between Ibram X. Kendi—author of "Stamped From the Beginning,"—and Jason Reynolds. If you've ever seen a side by side comparison of both books, you'll find that Kendi's original work is a lot heftier both in context and language.
Kendi penned an introduction in this book where he expressed how the lack of accessible books on racist ideas deterred him from learning about them at a young age, that even if they existed, they were far too boring to capture his attention. This is where Jason Reynolds steps in.
Kendi's definition of a great writer is someone who, "snatches the human eye in the way that a thumping beat snatches the human ear, makes your head bob up and down. It is hard to stop when the book is open," and it is spot on. I'll disclose now that there is nothing funny about racism, but Reynolds is a fun writer. To deny him that would be a crime. And, as Kendi pointed out, he’s a great writer, a gifted writer, at that. He finds a connection, big or small, for whoever's reading, because racism and racist ideas tend to stick to every facet of life like that, so there's bound to be something. He was the perfect person to adapt this book for a younger audience, though that doesn’t necessarily constrict the age group that this book would be perfect for.
This book is, by all intents and purposes, my first formal education about the history of racism in America. Having been raised outside of the US, history lessons mainly revolved around my home country. And if I were to really be honest, Tumblr was the place where I'd be exposed to a lot of these issues and it wasn't the most reliable. I am grateful for the starting point that this book has given me, and I'm willing to bet a lot of readers. Questions like, "Who was the world's first racist?" or "Where did the 'But I have Black friends' excuse come from?" were not asked. Retracing the origins of these ideas just never occured to me point blank. But it's important that we do, so we know how to proceed next. Reynolds sums it up beautifully: "Let's learn all there is to know about the tree of racism. The root. The fruit. The sap and trunk. The nests built over time, the changing leaves. That way, your generation can finally, actively, chop it down."
Five dazzling stars to "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You."
Roughly a month has passed since I finished this book and I've moved on to other reads about Antiracism, with my most recent purchase being Stamped The Remix's parent book, "Stamped From the Beginning." I have seen the Best Seller's shelf at my workplace shift about six or so times but I've not stopped recommending this book. It doesn't even live on that shelf.
—
"Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You," is a collaboration between Ibram X. Kendi—author of "Stamped From the Beginning,"—and Jason Reynolds. If you've ever seen a side by side comparison of both books, you'll find that Kendi's original work is a lot heftier both in context and language.
Kendi penned an introduction in this book where he expressed how the lack of accessible books on racist ideas deterred him from learning about them at a young age, that even if they existed, they were far too boring to capture his attention. This is where Jason Reynolds steps in.
Kendi's definition of a great writer is someone who, "snatches the human eye in the way that a thumping beat snatches the human ear, makes your head bob up and down. It is hard to stop when the book is open," and it is spot on. I'll disclose now that there is nothing funny about racism, but Reynolds is a fun writer. To deny him that would be a crime. And, as Kendi pointed out, he’s a great writer, a gifted writer, at that. He finds a connection, big or small, for whoever's reading, because racism and racist ideas tend to stick to every facet of life like that, so there's bound to be something. He was the perfect person to adapt this book for a younger audience, though that doesn’t necessarily constrict the age group that this book would be perfect for.
This book is, by all intents and purposes, my first formal education about the history of racism in America. Having been raised outside of the US, history lessons mainly revolved around my home country. And if I were to really be honest, Tumblr was the place where I'd be exposed to a lot of these issues and it wasn't the most reliable. I am grateful for the starting point that this book has given me, and I'm willing to bet a lot of readers. Questions like, "Who was the world's first racist?" or "Where did the 'But I have Black friends' excuse come from?" were not asked. Retracing the origins of these ideas just never occured to me point blank. But it's important that we do, so we know how to proceed next. Reynolds sums it up beautifully: "Let's learn all there is to know about the tree of racism. The root. The fruit. The sap and trunk. The nests built over time, the changing leaves. That way, your generation can finally, actively, chop it down."
Five dazzling stars to "Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You."