The I Index

How to Raise an Antiracist

Top of the pile

87

/100

I Index Overall Rating

Readers

93/100

Critics

81/100

Scholars

N/A

Author:

Ibram X. Kendi

Publisher:

One World

Date:

June 14, 2022

Like most parents or parents-to-be, Ibram X. Kendi felt the reflex to not talk to his child about racism, which he feared would stain her innocence and steal away her joy. But research and experience changed his mind, and he realized that raising his child to be antiracist would actually protect his child, and preserve her innocence and joy. He realized that teaching students about the reality of racism and the myth of race provides a protective education in our diverse and unequal world. He realized that building antiracist societies safeguards all children from the harms of racism.

What The Reviewers Say

Heather Booth,
Booklist
Kendi talks at length about his own parenting journey, noting his own errors, false assumptions, lessons learned, and intentions for the future. His humility in modeling continual self-improvement helps make this a readable and approachable guide. Because of its scope, nearly all readers will come away from Kendi’s message more aware and having found a point of resonance in their own lives..

Publishers Weekly
[A] knockout combination of memoir and parenting guide.

Kirkus
Kendi explains the connections between ableism and racism, and he ends with a chapter summarizing the current debates about anti-racist education in school and presenting a clear, impassioned case for why all children benefit from anti-racist instruction.