Stamped from the Beginning

I've been listening to bits and pieces of this book for a long time. It's a great resource and definitely a must read for anyone wanting to know more about the history of racism and slavery till the civil rights movements and present day issues, from a different perspective.

It might have felt a little repetitive for me because I had already read and loved the YA remixed version of this book, but it's still a spectacular and eye opening read. Highly recommend. Hoping to dive into The 1619 project as soon as I get my library copy.

And do checkout my review for Stamped if you want to read in more detail what I felt about this book.

A definitive history indeed. This book is DENSE; while reading I kept thinking every American needs to read this, but most people would never pick up a book of this size. While definitely a history book, thorough and academic, it wasn't unapproachable. What Yuval Noah Harari did in Sapiens to illustrate the expanse of humanity, Kendi has done with the history of racism in America. The subtitle is not an exaggeration. This isn't something one can read while distracted - it's an investment, but it's worth it.

I kept thinking he needed a shorter summary version of this book, so I was happy to see there's a newer book (Stamped) with another author that sounds like it's meant for an audience with a shorter attention span. I'll try to read that version at some point, but I'm preemptively adding it to my Every Human reading list.

Segregation and Anti-Rascism are relatively straightforward, but what Kendi does for the majority of this book is demonstrate how a third narrative in racism, Assimilation, has been interwoven into the fabric of the discourse. It's his handling of calls for assimilation and how they've historically been used to deepen racist agendas that is profound.