russia has launched a full-scale war in Ukraine! Headway asks you to donate to the charity fund to protect Ukraine and the world’s peace.

Support Ukraine

logo

Headway App

(81,672)

FREE - on the App Store

INSTALL NOW
library / 
book

Summary of How to be an Antiracist 

4.7 . 25868 reviews

Short summary

Have you been stigmatized based on your race before? What is the difference between being antiracist and being “not racist”? Do you seek a world where equity rules? Then you will find this a fascinating read. Ibram X. Kendi is a New York Times bestselling author and the founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center, a professor of History and International Relations and a public speaker. Kendi takes readers through the complex nuances of antiracism and explains why racial inequities should be thought of as action and reveals ways to eliminate them. He employs science, history, and moral ethics to explain racism and also teaches us that we must choose to be antiracist. “We’ve been led to believe that racist is a fixed category, that it’s a tattoo, it’s a label.” ~ Ibram X. Kendi

Table of content

  • Summary of How to be an Antiracist
  • About the author
  • What is How to be an Antiracist about?
  • Who should read How to be an Antiracist
  • Topics in How to be an Antiracist
first key point

To fight racism and what it represents, we must abandon stereotypes and redefine what racism and antiracism means

Listen the first key point
00:00
00:00
We cannot find an enemy we do not know. Racism is an enemy against humanity, black people in particular. To stand a chance against it, we must understand what it entails.
Definitions anchor us in our principles. ~ Ibram X. Kendi
The concept of race was introduced by a Portuguese prince, Henry the navigator, who used it to justify the slave trade. Between then and now, that concept has blossomed into government policies, societal beliefs, and individual behavior that affect everyone regardless of their skin color.

For Kendi, it is more than just a concept. While participating in a high school oratorical contest, he berated black youths on their inability to measure up to the standard of excellence set up by Martin Luther King Jr. He won the contest, but in retrospect he is embarrassed for using stereotypes to define and shame his peers.

To fight racism and what it represents, we must abandon stereotypes, redefine what racism means to us and adjust our viewpoint on the world.
Racist ideas make people of color think less of themselves which make them more vulnerable to racist ideas. Racist ideas make white people think more of themselves which further attracts them to racist ideas. ~ Ibram X. Kendi
What does it mean to be racist?
A racist is a person that supports a racist policy or behavior through their actions, inactions and interactions with others.
People of color are not exempt. When you support a racist policy or choose to do nothing about it, you are endorsing racism.

Very few people will openly admit that they are racist. In fact, many good people are “not racist”. The problem with the “not racist” stance is that it implies neutrality. No one can be neutral when it comes to racism. The opposite of racism is not “not racist”; it is “antiracist”. We must move on to being “antiracist”.
Like an addiction, being an antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination. ~ Ibram X. Kendi
What is the difference between “not racist” and “antiracist”? To be “not racist” is to accept the status quo. It is saying you do not see any need to attack the racial hierarchy we see in our society. That implies a tacit endorsement of racism.

On other hand, being “antiracist” entails a clear stance against racism. To be antiracist is to fight for racial equity in society and government policies. It demands a conscious effort to reexamine one’s belief and one’s own tendencies to promote racism regardless of skin color.

Did you know? The concept of race was invented to justify the slave trade.
second key point

The fight against racism demands an understanding of its concepts

All racist people have one common trait — they are always changing what it means to be a racist. This makes it hard to call them out on their racist speech, actions and behavior. The changing definitions make it easy for racists to exonerate themselves when they act on their racist tendencies. It is like asking a criminal to explain the law — he will always win.
book
Continue reading with Headway app
Continue reading
Full summary is waiting for you in the app
third key point

To be antiracist, we must take a stance against racism and accept antiracist discrimination as the solution.

fourth key point

Understanding our basic assumptions of why racism exists is key to developing and maintaining an antiracist stance

fifth key point

Biological racism is founded on wrong premises and must be tackled with biological antiracism

sixth key point

To be an antiracist is to reject ethnic, cultural and behavioral racism

seventh key point

Colorism is a subtle racism propagated by Blacks against Blacks

eighth key point

The fight against racism can be won but it demands consistent self-awareness, self-education, and self-examination

ninth key point

Conclusion

Buy full book on AmazonContinue the summary

What is How to be an Antiracist about?

Who should read How to be an Antiracist

book
book

Enjoy summarized nonfiction bestsellers

Grasp the book’s key ideas in less than 15 minutes

Get started

Get new knowledge easily

Let’s check how many titles you can finish in a month with Headway! Tell us how much time you’d like to spend on reading:

2 min/day
5 min/day
10 min/day
15 min/day
20 min/day
30 min/day
45 min/day
4 titles/month
10 titles/month
20 titles/month
30 titles/month
40 titles/month
60 titles/month
90 titles/month
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
4 titles/month
10 titles/month
20 titles/month
30 titles/month
40 titles/month
60 titles/month
90 titles/month
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image

Join 30+ million learners around the world

60K5 reviews on App Store and Google Play
icon

Everything you need to be motivate, to learn & to self improves is all here. I actually do appreciate the reminders because otherwise this wouldn’t work for me. Thank you

icon

sandypantalones

icon

Headway is the answer! No longer accumulating books I never read. With Headway, I initially chose the areas important to me such as productivity, time management, etc., and each day I'm provided several book summaries from which I devote 20 minutes or more each day reading. All of this on my phone! My life has improved with Headway. Truly my most useful app.

icon

Carol Slinker

icon

An excellent concept, executed well. Headway can help you retain what you've read while introducing you to the essential core of new information. It's an easier way to stay inspired, and to be reminded of the mental tools you've learned

icon

Fuse Henry

icon

In today’s world, we rarely have time. Between our jobs, our families are social obligations, when do we have time to grow and develop ourselves? Headway is an excellent app that gives you that time it gives you those little snippets of information that you need to direct your focus in on your life. Headway gives you a chance to find out the meat of a book that you might want to purchase and read or listen to in-depth without wasting a lot of time trying to figure out is this book for me? I highly recommend the app.

icon

sleepy sprite

icon

The selections are on point and the summaries are excellent! I listen while I walk my pup 🐶 and have in turn, ordered a few selections! REALLY loving the app, it’s layout, daily selections and features!

icon

JuicyBaby328

icon

I've gotten multiple books out of the library with the intent to read them, but always have a hard time finding the time. This app has helped me finally be able to get to them. Summarized, yes, and thank goodness too! Just short enough I can finish one on my way picking kids up from school/practice, or while I'm cooking dinner. I can't wait to listen to them over the summer when we visit the beach!

icon

Jillian Emmert

icon

It amazed me! There is the possibility to highlight the most important points of each book and instantly translate unfamiliar vocabulary. With the ability to review the searched words. It's a great way to learn more about English as well. The price is great.

icon

Fiamma

icon

I’m enjoying what I’m learning on headway.each summary comes with quotes at the end which you can save to help you remember key points. You can listen or read, I’ve found that reading puts me to sleep before I can finish but the listening feature keeps me engaged and I can finish in a brief amount of time if not one session.

icon

Epic waters

icon

The app it’s so easy to use. I use it while driving or cooking and is great. I love the fact that the chapters are short, so you can finish them quickly. Very knowledgeable.

icon

kathytaveras

icon

The best app for self development.It helps to keep pace with your reading and also suggests the kind of reading material you might like.It is fun as you can switch from reading to listening and vice-versa as per your convenience .Just get started and partake of the treasure of knowledge at your fingertips .I feel lucky to have spotted the app.It has helped me become self-disciplined and much better informed.The audio track is excellent.

icon

anita yadav

icon

Exactly what I need! I always have booklist to read, but can't committed enough to finish/start bc of too much pages. Headway is really helpful and concise with their summary. What I love the most is that the essence of the book is well crafted, so I don't only read the key points, but also there's the story and how personality of the author still well shown through the summary. Well done!

icon

Feninda Amalia

icon

This is outstanding best app ever and honestly whoever came up with is my app is an absolute genius kudos my gratitude definitely goes out and I’m only on my first week free trial and I’m certainly going to purchase this app annually. Now that I have it, I can’t even imagine living without it.

icon

Darlin NIKKIDOLL0923