How to Be An Antiracist

by Ibram X. Kendi

REVIEW BY MEREDITH MCKINNIE

“Racist ideas fooled me nearly my whole life. I refused to allow them to continue making a fool out of me, a chump out of me, a slave out of me. I realized there is nothing wrong with any of the racial groups and everything wrong with individuals like me who think there is something wrong with any of the racial groups. It felt good to cleanse my mind.”

This book is for those willing to listen and wanting to understand the history of race in this country and its effects. If you’ve found yourself curious about race, this could be a book for you. Ibram X. Kendi is a professor of history, and he writes like a professor. All of the facts are well documented, and he weaves history, current events, and personal memoir into his argument of how to successfully combat racism. For those new to this conversation, some of the verbage will be unfamiliar, but to truly understand a problem, it must be correctly termed and described. Kendi does not shy away from criticism; in fact, it is how he has learned who he is and what he is fighting for. He has had to mold himself into an antiracist by first identifying his own racist ideology and learning how to view individual actions as actions by individuals instead of representing an entire race. 

The common response to being called a racist is denial. Kendi argues for something else, antiracism, the opposite of racism. He claims simply denying racist ideology is not enough and often untrue. He identifies all the threads of racism throughout the world, from before America was ever founded by the colonists to the present day. He shows racist roots run deep and are such a fabric of society that many go unnoticed. His goal is policy change, as he argues anything less just kicks the problem to the next generation. He went from being a history scholar to an activist. He speaks of and talks to all races of people, and he refuses to classify one group under one umbrella. Kendi’s personal anecdotes of growing up both hating black people and then defending the color of his skin are raw, honest, and liberating. 

Each chapter is titled by category including: culture, power, biology, behavior, gender, etc. All sections begin with at least one term and definition, to introduce or reaffirm understanding of its importance to the topic being discussed. I read this book in doses, as it can be a lot to process. I read one or two chapters each day, sometimes looking up the articles or people mentioned for further understanding of context. This book made me want to learn more about racism and reexamine my own thoughts and feelings on the subject. This is not a light read, nor is it intended to be. This is for those who keep wondering what they’re missing, what do they not quite get, and who desire to advocate for the betterment of all of us.