How to Be an Antiracist (utgåvan 2019)

This was a truly powerful, and dense, book. I highly recommend it. It is well organized and while the chapters are connected, they are also focused on specific aspects of things so that readers can choose to read just a chapter at a time and not have to worry about needing to reread anything to pick the book back up later.

The main reason I currently have this book at 4 stars is because sometimes it felt a bit repetitive - though I can see why he wrote out things rather than shortening them. And some of it was also hard for me to follow. Though, it may simply be that this is a book that requires a second read from me. So, it's possible that after a reread I might change it to a 5 star.

The book says so much and gives so much to think about. And from all the quotes and references throughout the book it is obvious how much time and research went into this. ( )

Blah blah straw man blah blah slippery slope blah blah red herring blah blah distinction without difference blah blah hasty generalization blah blah some fair points blah blah circular reasoning blah blah cherry-picking blah blah no true scotsman etc.

First of all, this book was a chore to read. It switches back and forth between memoir and argument, and sometimes the connection between the two is strained. It would have been better divided into two books. On the whole it’s disorganized, and it’s written rather badly.

The book’s factual flaws have been documented elsewhere, but overall the central argument seems problematic, if not flatly contradictory. The book is full of have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too doublespeak. His central thesis is that one must be either racist or antiracist. If you think there’s a middle ground to be had, you’re wrong, because integration means assimilation, and assimilation means the victory of White culture/power over Black, and White culture/power is inherently racist. So we get on the one hand the insistence that “race” is a power construct, not a real thing, but on the other the idea that in order to avoid being racist, we must must embrace the concept of race in terms of identity. Thus we must preserve racialized groups/spaces/etc., and target legislation at uplifting certain historically marginalized groups. If I understand correctly, he’s advocating essentially that we buy into the original concepts of race/class/etc in order to turn the weapon against itself.

But I disagree with this, because I think it presents a false dichotomy, ignoring for example the Christian answer championed by Dr King, whom he misuses at points. Also, I’m not a Trained Marxist™, so correct me if I’m wrong, but his view minimizes - and in some cases, eliminates - the contribution of individuals to society, and the experience of individual consciousness. So you have a bunch of weird, sometimes absurd conclusions presented throughout the book: Whatever motives you think you have, they are not really - your true motive is the motive of your Group, as seen through his critical analytic. I.e., the real reason you are getting a tan is because you are racist. (No joke- this is on p. 116). Likewise, any racial/ethnic inequity that exists exists because of policy. So, then, most bizarrely of all, policy is judged to be “racist” based on its effects, not on its content.

Kendi opens himself up to attack as well when he appeals to a sort of pluralism to justify his anti-assimilationist/integrationist stance. There is no true objectivity, he says; White culture is no “better” than Black culture, and therefore has no right to assimilate it. But this appeal seems to raise the question of relativism, and with it, the usual issues. If no culture is inherently superior to any other, then on what grounds does he insist on pluralism? He seems to forget that all of these “cultures” he's talking about exist in terms of a shared milieu in which pluralism is a thing. He could call it a “white” milieu if he likes, since it emerges out of the Western tradition, but it’s here that he makes his final appeal. Does that mean he’s already been assimilated?

But Kendi is not really a pluralist, so in the end he avoids this problem, but only to raise an even bigger one when he ultimately advocates totalitarianism. His criticism of capitalism as inherently racist and his concept of racial identity culminates in a proposal found on Politico, in which he straight up says that to “fix the original sin of racism,” the nation should:

establish and permanently fund the Department of Anti-racism (DOA) comprised of formally trained experts on racism and no political appointees. The DOA would be responsible for preclearing all local, state and federal public policies to ensure they won’t yield racial inequity, monitor those policies, investigate private racist policies when racial inequity surfaces, and monitor public officials for expressions of racist ideas. The DOA would be empowered with disciplinary tools to wield over and against policymakers and public officials who do not voluntarily change their racist policy and ideas.

So while I was moved by Kendi’s story, and would like to be an antiracist, there’s a lot here that I just can’t get behind. His argument is sketchy, likely self-contradictory, and, ultimately, totalitarian. ( )

I know that I'm supposed to be all "hot under the collar" about this book on antiracism, but instead, I was nothing but agitated by the author's constant hatred of everybody. He does define different categories of racism and does highlight the horrors of hatred amongst the colored population, not including the systemic racism of white people toward blacks. In short, the only chapter that I truly appreciated and related to was the last one where he discusses his battle against cancer. There must be some better books to read on the racism problem in the United States. ( )

The value of [b:How to Be an Antiracist|40265832|How to Be an Antiracist|Ibram X. Kendi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560163756l/40265832._SY75_.jpg|62549152] is not in its selection of a specific audience - beginner or advanced - but in the way that the author grounds his own journey towards antiracism in a discussion of the wide variety of ways in which racism presents itself. It's not as extraordinary of a work as [b:Stamped from the Beginning|25898216|Stamped from the Beginning The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America|Ibram X. Kendi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440457523l/25898216._SY75_.jpg|45781103], but it will provide insight and clarification no matter where you find yourself on your journey towards antiracism. I could not recommend this boom more. ( )

This is an important book, so I urge you to read it even if the title makes you squirm and you think to yourself that you don't have to read this. I hope that this book will be read in political science classes, history classes, biology classes, economics classes, and that teachers in all areas read it and think about how to incorporate its important ideas, thoughts, and examples into their respective disciplines. ( )