How to Be an Antiracist

Summary, part 4

Chapters 13–18

Chapter 13: Space

Space racism: A powerful collection of racist policies that lead to resource inequity between racialized spaces or the elimination of certain racialized spaces, which are substantiated by racist ideas about racialized spaces

Space antiracism: A powerful collection of antiracist policies that lead to racial equity between integrated and protected racialized spaces, which are substantiated by antiracist ideas about racialized spaces

One of Kendi's classmates at Temple University, Nashay, had also gone to FAMU for her undergraduate degree. Nashay loathed FAMU because they messed up her transcript, but still held a different White elite university in high regard, even if their financial aid office cheated her out of thousands of dollars. From observing Nashay, Kendi learned that you need to compare Black spaces to things that have similar resources as them (in doing so, you'll find that HBCUs perform just as well as similar schools like HWCUs).

Antiracists desire to separate themselves from harmful racists, which is not the same as segregationists desiring to be separate from so-called inferior Black people. When Black people gather amongst themselves, integrationists do not see spaces of Black solidarity, but instead as places of anti-White hate.

Integrationists use segregation and separation interchangeably because of Jim Crow vocabulary. For example, Plessy v. Ferguson’s separate but equal ruling “covered up the segregationist policies that diverted resources toward exclusively White spaces” (p. 175). In Brown v. Board, Justice Warren said that segregation of White and colored children has a detrimental effect on their education. Kendi states that separation is not what made the education of Black students worse, but rather the lack of resources and unequal opportunity.

Kendi, like Martin Luther King, Jr., found merit in all-Black spaces. King was concerned that the effects of Brown v. Board would force Black students in spaces that saw them as inferior–which is exactly what happened. Today, non-white students are the majority of public school students, but 80% of teachers are white." The integrated Black space became a de facto segregated space where inferior Black bodies were left behind" (p. 178).

Chapter 14: Gender

Gender racism: A powerful collection of racist policies that lead to inequity between race-genders and are substantiated by racist ideas about race-genders

Gender antiracism: A powerful collection of antiracist policies that lead to equality between race-genders and are substantiated by antiracist ideas about race-genders

At Temple University, Kendi learned a lot from and really admired his friends Kaila and Yaba, who lived and breathed lesbian feminism in Black spaces. They were so up-to-date about Black American popular culture and African politics.

He arrived as a racist, sexist homophobe because that is what he grew up around. His parents submitted to the idea that the man is the head of the household, even though his mom was admittedly the CFO of the family and ¼ of Black homes were headed by women. He knew about the Moynihan report, which stated that Black women must submit themselves for the Black race to thrive. He knew about Charles Murray, who blamed the welfare system, single mothers, and especially Black women for having too many kids as being a detriment to Black life. Other ways gendered racism manifested are through the forced sterilization of Black women, the fact that college-educated Black women make less than white women with only high school degrees, and how Black women are more likely to die from complications during pregnancy.

From Kaila and Yaba, he learned that to be antiracist is to be feminist, to understand intersectionality (a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw).

Visit Radical in Progress’ Intersectionality study guide, which covers the article where Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term ‘intersectionality.’

Chapter 15: Sexuality

Queer racism: A powerful collection of racist policies that lead to inequity between race-sexualities and are substantiated by racist ideas about race-sexualities

Queer antiracism: A powerful collection of antiracist policies that lead to equity between race-sexualities and are substantiated by antiracist ideas about race-sexualities

Queer racism produces inequities between race-sexualities. For example, 32% of kids in same-sex Black male households are in poverty, compared to 14% of same-sex White male households and 13% of Black straight households. Stereotypes of gay and Black people were that they were hypersexual and therefore more prone to AIDS, when in reality, Black men were more likely to wear protection.

Kendi came to college with homophobic behaviors. He realized that when he learned that his best friend was gay through a mutual friend, which made him ask why the friend didn't come out to him. He recognized he had so much work to do and binge read anything his queer friends recommended to him. He learned that queer antiracism "[strives] to eliminate the inequities between the race-sexualities" and to affirm that ALL Black lives matter. He learned how he, a cisgender man, must recognize the privileges of masculinity and sexuality and their intersections. He must start to see the wave of religious freedom laws and voter ID laws as racist and homophobic.

And through conversations with Kaila and Yaba, he saw how they directed frustration at homophobes regardless of their sexual identity. This taught him that the fundamental problem of queer racism is ideas, policies, and power sources.

Chapter 16: Failure

Activist: One who has a record of power or policy change

The failure of antiracism comes from failed racial ideologies:

• The idea that race is a social construct, as opposed to a power construct

• The idea that there is a singular march of racial progress, as opposed to a duel of racist v. antiracist progress

• The idea that racism is rooted in ignorance (and must be solved by suasion), as opposed to self-interest (and must be solved by claiming power)

Kendi states the following:

The original problem of racism has not been solved by suasion. Knowledge is only power if knowledge is put to the struggle for power. Changing minds is not a movement. Critiquing racism is not activism. Changing minds is not activism. An activist produces power and policy change, not mental change. If a person has no record of power or policy change, then that person is not an activist.” p. 209.

He reflects on his time as a member of Temple University's Black Student Union (BSU), who, at the time, wanted to devise a campaign to free the six Black teenagers in Louisiana–the Jena 6. Kendi wanted to start the 106 campaign to get 106 campuses to mobilize 106 students on the streets, but his ideas scared the BSU members and his idea was voted down. He initially blamed them and their ignorance about racism, but later understood that it was his failure to persuade his peers. 

"When people fail to consume our convoluted antiracist ideas, we blame their stupidity rather than our own stupid lack of clarity. When we transform people and do not show them an avenue of support, we blame their lack of commitment rather than our lack of guidance" (p. 213).

Kendi argues that antiracists must critique their own ideas and methods and refine them so that they work. By focusing so much on ideologies' ideological and financial purity, one then cares less about bringing equitable results for people in dire straits. Antiracists must instead be propelled by the craving to shape policy.

Temple University’s BSU ended up holding a protest for the Jena 6, although it was really more of a demonstration.

Protest: Organizing people for a prolonged campaign

Effective protest: The most effective protests create environments where changing racist policy becomes the best interest of the power, such as desegregating businesses because sit-ins are driving away customers

Demonstration: Mobilizing people momentarily to publicize a problem (a favorite of suasionists)

Effective demonstration: The most effective demonstrations are educational efforts that help people find antiracist power within themselves, provide methods to give up their antiracist power, and to channel people to giving their time and funds to antiracist organizations, protests, and power-seeking campaigns

Organizing and protesting are more difficult than mobilizing and demonstrating, but they are more impactful because they are about seizing power. If antiracists exercise both strategies effectively, there is a chance of overcoming racist power.

Chapter 17 and 18: Success and Survival

After Trayvon Martin was murdered and when Alicia Garza first typed the phrase 'Black Lives Matter,' Kendi began his lifelong mission to be antiracist. Being antiracist is an ongoing process, one which began by him ceasing the use of the 'I can't be racist' defense, confessing his support of racist policies and ideas, accepting the source of what made him and the nation racist, defining antiracism, beginning the struggle for antiracist power and policy (by joining antiracist organizations or protests, seizing a policy-making position, and donating time and funds, and attending protests), and struggling with the intersections of antiracism and other bigotries. To be antiracist is to be on this lifelong journey dedicated to bringing power out of racists' hands and into the hands of antiracists.

Antiracists will be successful when antiracist power and policy are predominant.

Kendi argues that we must see racism as a disease. He hated this conception of racism because he instead thought racism was something America needed to function. With this way of thinking, he found himself asking leading questions and closing himself to answers that did not feel good to him. Eventually, he learned that racism has always been terminal and curable, always recognizable and moral.

His language describing racism as ‘terminal’ is intentional. His wife Sadiqa and mother battled breast cancer within months of each other.

“Watching Sadiqa’s courage to break down her body to rebuild her body inspired me to accept the source of racist ideas I found while researching their entire history,” he said, “the source of racist ideas was not ignorance and hate, but self-interest” (p. 230).

Self-interested powers needed racism to justify the inequities they created.

Kendi asked himself and encourages others to ask: What are you doing to change policy? For him, an academic, he realized that he did not need to forsake antiracist research or education. Instead, he needed to forsake his orientation to antiracist research and education; forsake the suasionist bred into him to focus on changing policy.

He developed an idea for a residential fellowship program that would bring teams of scholars, policy experts, and students together to investigate racist policies and present antiracist policy correctives. But his dreams stopped short when he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. He needed to face his cancer, which helped him face racism: 

“I have cancer. The most serious stage. Cancer is likely to kill me. I can survive cancer against all odds. My society has racism. The most serious stage. Racism is likely to kill my society. My society can survive racism against all odds” (p. 235).

Kendi survived his stage 4 cancer because of a well-developed treatment plan. What if we treated racism like we did cancer with a treatment plan? Remove racist policies like surgeons remove tumor cells, he suggests. Kendi believes that – like with his cancer – all is not lost. He believes that the power constructs of race and racism can and must be overcome.