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In Stamped From the Beginning, Ibram X. Kendi argues that racist ideas don’t give rise to racist policies. Policies come first, and racist ideas are invented and perpetuated to justify them. Kendi, an African American Studies scholar, develops this claim by analyzing the history of racist ideas in the United States and offering readers a better understanding of how to combat contemporary racism.
Below is a selection of Ibram X. Kendi’s quotes with explanations.
Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
More than 50 years after the Civil Rights Movement and more than 14 years after electing its first Black president, why is the United States still divided along racial lines?
That’s the central question of Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi, which argues that contrary to common wisdom, racism doesn’t begin with prejudice and hatred. It begins with self-serving policies whose proponents justify their actions by inventing racist ideas.
The following Ibram X. Kendi’s quotes highlight some of the key points of the book.
“Hate and ignorance have not driven the history of racist ideas in America. Racist policies have driven the history of racist ideas in America. And this fact becomes apparent when we examine the causes behind, not the consumption of racist ideas, but the production of racist ideas.”
Kendi argues that racist ideas don’t result from ignorance. Rather, they have been invented to serve a function. In order to describe Black people as an inferior race, enslavers had to explain what a race was in the first place. This led to the idea that there is something inherently wrong with Black people.
Because racist policies—not racist ideas—come first, the solution is to defeat racist policies themselves—and keep them from coming back. To do so will require antiracists to achieve political power, enact antiracist policies, and hold on to their power (and policies) long enough for antiracist thought to become the new public common sense.
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Here's what you'll find in our full Stamped from the Beginning summary:
- How enslavers convinced themselves that slavery benefited slaves
- Why most antiracist reformers harbored racist thoughts
- How to achieve an antiracist society
