How To Be a (Young) Antiracist

 

My Thoughts:

YA author Nic Stone does a great job of adapting Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's How to be an Antiracist for the young activists in your classroom. In clear prose and easily digestible definitions, even this old English teacher learned of the nuances of the different -isms. Basically, what it comes down to is that any time we lump people into one definition without looking at individuals as individuals, then we too are a perpetrator of -isms. The post it like memos from Nic (Nic's notes) were fabulous little asides as if she was  reading this alongside us and also learning and sharing her own "aha"s on this journey. 

Perhaps the idea that this is a journey is also the magic of this adaptation. It gives readers very specific steps and action items, but it also is very clear about the journey that Dr. Kendi has taken to come to this awareness. Starting at his speech competition as a finalist of the Prince William County Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Contest, where he did an updated version of the "I Have a Dream Speech," and won the applause and agreement by the audience, Stone takes Kendi's story and explains the misconceptions and misunderstandings that lead to his awakening. The authors weave the journeys in alternating timelines and narrator commentary like expert storytellers. This is a heavy call to action written without blame or anger. Instead this is a gentle and "let natural light in" alarm to wake and rise up. 

And then . . . with everyone at the edge of their seats, hanging on your every word, you drop your voice for the finale:

“So I say to you, my friends, that even though this cultural revolution may never be over,

“I still have a dream . . .”

And the crowd goes wild.

A crowd full of African American adults. (You’re in a Black church, after all.)

Validation.

But the thing is . . . you’re wrong. And everyone who agreed with you by way of applause is also wrong.

It’ll take you some time to realize that your words aren’t as virtuous as the resounding applause has made you believe they are. Eventually, you realize that it’ll take more than a surprise pair of college admission letters and a spot in the finals of an oratorical contest to shift your sense of yourself and other Black people.

In this moment, though, with the approval of Black men, women, and children ringing in your ears, you don’t realize it . . .

But everything you said is racist.

From the Publisher:

The New York Times bestseller How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi is shaping the way a generation thinks about race and racism. How to be a (Young) Antiracist is a dynamic reframing of the concepts shared in the adult book, with young adulthood front and center. Aimed at readers 12 and up, and co-authored by award-winning children's book author Nic Stone, How to be a (Young) Antiracist empowers teen readers to help create a more just society. Antiracism is a journey--and now young adults will have a map to carve their own path. Kendi and Stone have revised this work to provide anecdotes and data that speaks directly to the experiences and concerns of younger readers, encouraging them to think critically and build a more equitable world in doing so.

Publication information:

Author: Ibram X. Kendi, (adapted by) Nic Stone

Publisher: Kokkla

Publication date: January 31, 2023