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Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is the author of many books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and three #1 New York Times bestsellers, How to Be an Antiracist, which was also a Sunday Times bestseller; Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds; and Antiracist Baby, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky. In 2020, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Photo Credit: Janice Checchio and Stephen Voss
This book has won several awards in the US, for tackling a difficult and contentious topic. Though to some extent I feel the book rather misses its mark – although the format and the pictures are aimed at toddlers, this is very much a book for carers, teachers and youth leaders to use to open discussions about race. The book simply gives 9 steps to becoming antiracist, all illustrated with big bold, colourful pictures, but in language that is most definitely going to need a mediator for a small child to understand. I was disappointed by the lack of empathy exhibited, with no vocalising of love and respect for everyone, regardless of race. The prompts at the end of the book for discussion and further exploration are very useful and could be the basis of many critical discussions in schools and other appropriate places. The author does acknowledge a great deal of the language used is difficult and provides a good glossary of the main terms used – always a benefit when dealing with terms that could be misinterpreted.
