Kendi How to Be an Antiracist PDF Free Download

Kendi How to Be an Antiracist PDF Download Info

Book overview

   How to Be an Antiracist is a 2019 nonfiction book by Ibram X. Kendi, which combines social commentary and memoir. Kendi relates his evolving concept of racism through his own life over four decades. He argues that racism is founded in both patriarchy and capitalism. Kendi argues that the opposite of racist is anti-racist and that there is no middle ground in the struggle against racism. He draws on his own lifelong racism to argue that anyone can be racist when they express harmful stereotypes about entire groups. He suggests models for anti-racist individual actions and systemic changes, such as ending racist policies, exercising anti-racist ideas, and being vigilant towards a recurrence of racism.

   How to Be an Antiracist was a best seller on Amazon.com in June 2020 and became a best seller on The New York Times Best Seller List in Hardcover Nonfiction. It received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews, and was described as “thoughtful, sincere and polished” and “boldly articulated” and “historically informed”. Black studies scholar Jeffrey C. Stewart called it the “most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind”. Professor of civil rights law Randall Kennedy said the book had major flaws, especially being internally contradictory and poorly reasoned. Kendi’s book is praised for its clarity, insight, and personal anecdotes.

   However, it has been criticized for its simplistic distinctions between good and evil and for its lack of practical suggestions. Behavior geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden argues that race is not a valid biological category, while Joseph L. Graves Jr. argues that human populations do not differ substantially in the frequencies of genetic variants that determine their complex behaviour.

Summary of Kendi How to Be an Antiracist

   Ibram X. Kendi’s book teaches readers how to change their thinking and begin their journey to an antiracist mindset. Racism permeates our society at every level, and it is even more upsetting when we see racism in the highest-ranking positions in America. Racism is regressing in 2019, with President Donald Trump making statements such as “Laziness is a trait in Blacks” and “Mexicans immigrants are rapists and criminals”. To answer the question, it is important to know the definition of a racist and antiracist. The concept of race didn’t even exist until the 15^th century when Portugal began enslaving Africans.

   An antiracist policy is one that promotes equality among all racial groups and may also positively discriminate to achieve greater justice and fairness. It is not racist, but it positively discriminates to achieve greater justice and fairness. It is up to us to decide which one we choose to become. Christopher Colombus and Eleanor Holmes Norton both advocated for the assimilation of African-Americans to white culture, similar to how Christopher Colombus set out to “help” the Native Americans. Eleanor argued that African-Americans should be taught how to assimilate to white culture through better work ethics and respect for education.

   The idea of assimilation is rooted in racism and believes that certain racial groups are inferior and should be separated from a more “civilized” race. Donald Trump expressed that a wall should be built to separate the United States from Mexico, which is an asegregationist idea. Antiracists support policies that believe that no matter the differences, each race is equally unique and there is no reason for any race to change or develop. An example of this is when faced with rising violent crime rates among African-Americans, anti-racists chose to focus on taking down the racist policies that put young African-Americans at a higher probability of becoming unemployed.

BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES IS A RACIST BELIEF

   Ibram X. Kendi’s idea that no race is biologically different or genetically superior or inferior to another is a racist idea. He recalls being in school and seeing everyone as the same, and the only differences were rooted in something deeper and more meaningful. People assign biological differences with different meanings to assign meaning to everything around us, which is detrimental to society. The stereotypical notion that Black people are more athletic or Black women have larger butts is biological racism, as there are no genetic differences between races. Scientists have found that people from ethnic groups shared similar genetic characteristics, but none can be attributed to race. To adopt an antiracist mindset, it is important to understand that race cannot be inherited and that everyone’s genetic makeup is nearly identical.

   Colorism is a collection of racist ideas that force people to believe that dark skin and light skin should be viewed differently, and that light skin should be viewed as the superior color. Colorism has resulted in darker-skinned people of color being discriminated against while lighter-skinned people of color have become more privilege. Studies have shown that white voters favor Black politicians with a lighter skin color over those with a darker complexion, and that darker-skinned people of color receive harsher sentences than those with lighter skin color. Studies have also shown that Black women have experienced lower self-esteem than other racial groups due to society’s impossible beauty standards. To become a color antiracist, it is important to be aware of the privileges that lighter-skinned people receive while their darker-skinned counterparts continually experience loss and discrimination.

Review

   Ibram X. Kendi’s How to be an Antiracist is a timely and important work that explores his personal journey from being a racist to being an anti-racist. He uses storytelling and narratives to explore the intersectionality of his ethnic, bodily, cultural, color, and class racism. This is a nuanced look at racism. This definition is counterintuitive to more conventional definitions of racism, which tend to link White supremacy to racism.

   Kendi’s book “White” provides a framework for understanding the different types of racist ideas, such as segregationist and assimilationist. He also offers a definition of an anti-racist person that is parallel to his definition of a racist: “one who is supporting an antiracist policy through their actions or expressing an antiracist idea”. This framework helps readers to distinguish between assimilationism and anti-racism, and to move from racist ideas to anti-racist action. The diversity problem in LIS is often framed as the lack of ethnically and racially diverse librarians, archivists, and information professionals. Kendi’s book focuses on racist policy and policymakers, rather than racial discrimination. However, the lack of explicit recommendations on how to take action to be an anti-racist is one of its weaknesses. Chapter 17 offers examples of taking action against anti-racist policies, but it is not enough for a book with such an impactful title.

   Kendi’s book provides an introduction to the nuances of racism and its anti-racism counterpart. He rejects the term “microaggression” and instead uses the term “racist abuse” to highlight the racial violence experienced by racialized people. The text is accessible to both academic and lay readers and does not explore the intersections of other identities such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, dis/ability and social class. How to be an Antiracist is a book that provides an understanding of the different types of racism enacted in society and the various permutations. It encourages readers to make mistakes and struggle, and to recognize and challenge racist ideas, racial inequity, and racial policies.

   It also encourages White allies to think about why they want to be allies and to strive to be anti-racist. It is highly recommended for all to read and to acquire for their library collection.    This book is a combination memoir and extension of Atlantic columnist Kendi’s Stamped From the Beginning (2016) that leads readers through a taxonomy of racist thought to anti-racist action. It examines racism through various lenses, such as power, biology, ethnicity, body, culture, and gender racism. This unsparing honesty helps readers navigate this difficult intellectual territory.

Kendi How to Be an Antiracist PDF Free Download