Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

 

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Today’s post is on Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. It is 273 pages long and is published by Little, Brown, and Company. The cover is white with a silhouette in black on the center. The intended reader is someone who is interested in American history, African American history, and repressed history. There is no foul language, no sex, and discussion of violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Racist ideas in our country did not arise from ignorance or hatred. Instead, they were developed by some of the most brilliant minds in history to justify and rationalize the nation's deeply entrenched discriminatory policies. But while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited. In examining the history of racist ideas in America, this remarkable re-imagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s National book award winning Stamped from the Beginning also offers the tools needed to combat them.

Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative that speaks to young people as only Jason Reynolds can, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racism-  and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts and their daily lives. 

Review- A good first primer on racism in America and how systemic racism is built into every facet of our society.  Reynolds and Kendi help take a very difficult dense subject and break it down to its important moving parts that can be lost when you start looking at the overall picture of America and racism in America. and they do a very good job of that, the language they use is appealing to a young reader but not skipping out on the complexity of the topic. They can be read and engaged with by persons of any race, as they are just telling the truth about how America was built and on the backs of who it was built on. The notes of the back or helpful, if the reader wants to do a more in-depth study, and everything that is presented in this book is presented in an approachable easy style. If you are looking to start to learn about America's racist past or have a young person in your life who is interested in why Black Lives Matter movement is happening and why it's causing such controversy Across the Nation, then I would recommend this book. 

I give this book a Four out of Five stars.