Book Review - How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi

With all of the hype and popularity, I expected something more well-reasoned and intellectually challenging. It was not. Rating - I read it so you don't have to!

Foundationally, the book rests on the pillars of Critical Race Theory and intersectionality. Society must be viewed through the lens of group identities and power relationships between those groups, instead of as a collection of unique individuals with their own experiences. Oppressor groups intentionally form and promote societal structures that allow them to maintain power over oppressed groups. It probably goes without saying that oppressor groups are those of European descent, males, heterosexuals, and Christians. Oppressed groups are everything else.

Once we understand that foundation, the premise of the book can be summarized in a few bullet-points:

• First, it redefines the meaning of racism; ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that result in measurable disparate outcomes between races is RACIST. Unless the result is full racial equity (identical outcomes), it is racist.
  

• In order to be antiracist, you must ACTIVELY oppose anything that falls under the new definition of racist.
  

• It is impossible to be ambivalent on this issue. If you are not an antiracist (see above) you are a racist. This is strictly a binary issue and it's the reason that the proponents of this belief system are so free with the term "racist". If you are not a neo-marxist (in which race is substituted for class), you must be a racist.
  

• If someone is a racist (see above), their views are invalid and they must be silenced. This means that, by definition, the antiracist viewpoint cannot be legitimately opposed.
  

Interestingly, the book never explicitly explains how to be an antiracist. It never says how racial equity can be realized, and it never defines what specific policies should be implemented to achieve racial equity. The only solid proposal offered is a new constitutional amendment that establishes a governmental body to enforce antiracism and ensure equity. In other words, it promotes TOTALITARIANISM.