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  • How to Be an Antiracist

  • Written by: Ibram X. Kendi
  • Narrated by: Ibram X. Kendi
  • Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (606 ratings)

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How to Be an Antiracist

Written by: Ibram X. Kendi
Narrated by: Ibram X. Kendi
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Publisher's Summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning comes a “groundbreaking” (Time) approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society and in ourselves—now updated, with a new preface.

“The most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.”—The New York Times

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—The New York Times Book Review, Time, NPR, The Washington Post, Shelf Awareness, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews

Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism—and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes listeners through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help listeners see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.

Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.

©2019 Ibram X. Kendi (P)2019 Random House Audio

What the critics say

“What do you do after you have written Stamped From the Beginning, an award-winning history of racist ideas? . . . If you’re Ibram X. Kendi, you craft another stunner of a book. . . . What emerges from these insights is the most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind, a confessional of self-examination that may, in fact, be our best chance to free ourselves from our national nightmare.”The New York Times

How to Be an Antiracist couldn’t come at a better time. . . . Kendi has gifted us with a book that is not only an essential instruction manual but also a memoir of the author’s own path from anti-black racism to anti-white racism and, finally, to antiracism. . . . How to Be an Antiracist gives us a clear and compelling way to approach, as Kendi puts it in his introduction, ‘the basic struggle we’re all in, the struggle to be fully human and to see that others are fully human.’”—NPR

“Kendi dissects why in a society where so few people consider themselves to be racist the divisions and inequalities of racism remain so prevalent. How to Be an Antiracist punctures the myths of a post-racial America, examining what racism really is—and what we should do about it.”Time

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What listeners say about How to Be an Antiracist

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Must Read

If you’ve ever felt like you wanted to help the fight against racism, or felt like you were regretfully ignorant on racist issues and wanted to educate yourself, this is a great place to start. Audio version is amazing since the author, Ibram X. Kendi, reads it himself and makes you really feel the words, stories and theories.

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  • 2020-09-06

Amazing

Ibram's self-examination gives the reader space and guidance to do the same. The most thorough journey through all the major constructs that are plaguing society- racism, sexism, homophobia, capitalism etc. These concepts should be taught in schools so that the brains of future generations find anti-racism as natural as we currently find racism.

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Well Reasoned, Well Delivered

The author makes his case more soundly and clearly than any other I’ve read or heard to date in this topic. Moreover, he performs his case both through his telling of the development of his own progression away from his prior isms, and through treating his audiences, including white folks, with the same equity he argues for so cogently. Best of all, he delivers exactly what he advertised and I sought in this book: actionable guidance for what to do, and an argument to put practical effectiveness before ideological dogma. This is altogether the sort of excellence I look forward to recommending to others, as I do here now.

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Powerful Book

Highly recommend this to anyone who is open to learning about how to do better and be better. Ibram X. Kendi takes you on a journey through history and through his life. He is a captivating story teller. My biggest takeaway is how he redefined vocabulary and definitions of racism. I will be recommending to all friends, family and colleagues.

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Well-researched, thought provoking and motivational

Lots of new-to-me history about racism and racist policies in America and beyond. Goes more in depth by investigating many intersectionalities involving race. Throughout the book, Ibram weaves his journey with his thoughts and beliefs regarding racism and anti-racism. Highly recommend!

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Absolutely outstanding

I loved this book. The way he tells his story towards becoming an anti racist is both beautiful and utterly compelling. He makes me believe that we can change.

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An important book that should be read by all

A clear description on what has occurred in history, what is occurring now and what should occur in the future in regards to race and race policy. I would recommend it to all. I do plan on getting a print copy. As echoed in some of the other reviews, the narration style was at times distracting (unexpected breaks in sentences) Some passionate moments elicited an increase in pitch volume and speed in the authors voice which made it a bit difficult to listen to at times. Was appreciated, however, to hear it from the author himself.

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Brilliant

The way Ibram Kendi uses his own life experiences as metaphors for racism is brilliant. This book was incredibly eye opening and mind expanding. He started me on an inner quest to uncover my own racism that was well hidden and disguised. Hearing him read the book made the experience even better. His passion, intelligence and incredibly well written book is still in my thoughts on a daily basis, 3 months after having finished it.

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Highly recommended!

Excellent reading for anyone looking to understand more about how to be an ally to BIPOC. Should be required reading for white folks. I love that it’s read by the author himself and he does an excellent job with it!

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Describes the problem and the solution

This is the fourth book I listened to on this topic and it’s now my favorite. It’s exhaustive in cataloging the flavors of racism and anti-racism, and I love how it comes together at the end: you don’t end racism by changing minds, but by changing racist policies to anti-racist policies. (This is stated in the earliest chapters, but, by the end of the book, you have the context to truly believe it.)

One caveat: if you’re looking for your first book discussing race and racism, You may want to first check out So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. I think it’s a more accessible introduction.

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1 person found this helpful