Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America is a 2016 non-fiction book about race in the United States by Ibram X. Kendi that won the National Book Award for Nonfiction.
Completed book #5 in my 2022 #FReadom list of books banned or challenged in Texas libraries and schools: Ibram X Kendi's thoroughly researched and educational Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in Americawww.ibramxkendi.com/stamped
In this book, Kendi upends the myth that hateful people originate racist ideas which result in discrimination. It lays out a compelling historical case that discrimination (in service of power or self-interest) drives racist ideas, which then in turn drive hate.
This book eloquently chronicles the whole, bitter history of racism, connecting all these events together in an engaging progression of racist and antiracist thought and actions over the years. It expertly exposes the shortcomings of various attacks on racism and shows the ways in which racist power has been able to continue largely uninterrupted for such a long time.
Review of 'Stamped from the Beginning' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I just finished Dr. Kendi’s phenomenal book, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. In the book, Kendi makes three distinct schools of thought regarding race obvious: segregation, assimilation, and antiracist. Segregationists seek to separate the races. Assimilationists seek to force non-white races to take on white culture as their own. Antiracists see that race is a false construct bolstered by racism and bad science. Antiracists seek to eliminate the disparities between racial groups to create an egalitarian society.
Dr. Kendi explores the ideas of segmentation, assimilation, and antiracism throughout American history through five individuals: Puritan minister Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and legendary activist Angela Davis.
Kendi concludes by discussing the antiracist goal of eliminating disparities between racial groups. Historically, antiracists have sought to use moral suasion, uplift, and education to encourage Americans to pursue the elimination of …
I just finished Dr. Kendi’s phenomenal book, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. In the book, Kendi makes three distinct schools of thought regarding race obvious: segregation, assimilation, and antiracist. Segregationists seek to separate the races. Assimilationists seek to force non-white races to take on white culture as their own. Antiracists see that race is a false construct bolstered by racism and bad science. Antiracists seek to eliminate the disparities between racial groups to create an egalitarian society.
Dr. Kendi explores the ideas of segmentation, assimilation, and antiracism throughout American history through five individuals: Puritan minister Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and legendary activist Angela Davis.
Kendi concludes by discussing the antiracist goal of eliminating disparities between racial groups. Historically, antiracists have sought to use moral suasion, uplift, and education to encourage Americans to pursue the elimination of racial disparities. These strategies have failed. As in his other work, Kendi concludes that Antiracist political power must be used to eliminate racist policies and create antiracist policies in the interest of creating a more egalitarian society.
