In his new book, Ibram X. Kendi challenges readers to ask one question: how can people learn to be an antiracist?
The new book titled “How To Be An Antiracist” details the importance of speaking on racial justice issues in the U.S. Kendi also challenges readers to imagine an antiracist society and the ways that people can think about themselves and others.
“It’s important to be someone who is viewing the racial groups as equal, to be someone who is part of the struggle and to institute the antiracist policy that lead to racial equity,” Kendi said.
The book further examines how society views certain racial groups as better than others, touching on interracial relationships as well. Kendi said that the goal of his book is to spread awareness of racial issues and to form a foundation of equality.
“First and foremost, being antiracist is a journey and no one sort of wakes up one day and decides for themselves to be antiracist because we are pretty much all raised in this country to be racist,” Kendi said. “I wanted to show my own journey toward the now antiracist journey and tanks to encourage others to realize it is a difficult and ongoing journey, but it’s possible.”
Kendi is a professor of history and international relations and director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at AU. He is also is an award-winning expert on antiracism and is a New York Times best-selling author. He has published numerous periodicals for The New York Times, TIME and The Washington Post. Kendi has also written “The Black Campus Movement” and “Stamped From The Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas In America,” which have both won awards.
The Antiracist Research and Policy Center has teams of scholars, policy experts, journalists and advocates who address racial injustices. The center also organizes projects and initiatives to spread awareness of antiracist concerns.
Under his leadership, the Antiracist Research Center has hosted educational initiatives like the National Antiracist Book Festival, which was the first book festival that celebrated the nation’s antiracist writers. Its goal is to mobilize groups of people together to research racist policies and racial inequities, Kendi said.
“We want to innovate antiracist policies and to work towards instituting those antiracist policies, all the while teaching and educating people the fundamental problem of our society is not what’s wrong with people, but what’s wrong with our policies,” Kendi said.
pjeancharles@theeagleonline.com
