Kendi Delivers Message on How to Be Anti-Racist
Being an anti-racist involves much more than simply declaring, 鈥淚鈥檓 not a racist,鈥� says author and historian Ibram X. Kendi, PhD, MA.
鈥淔irst and foremost, to be an anti-racist, you must recognize that there are racial disparities and inequities in our society,鈥� says Kendi, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and founding director of its Center for Antiracist Research. 鈥淎nd then you must ask, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 the cause of those disparities?鈥�
鈥淭o be anti-racist is to not think there鈥檚 something inferior about any racial group of people and to understand that the only explanation for racial disparity between groups is that there鈥檚 something wrong with our policies, practices, or the conditions that certain people are forced to live under,鈥� he adds. 鈥淎nd then, to be anti-racist is to figure out which of those policies and practices are harmful and need to change.鈥�
Kendi is one of the country鈥檚 leading anti-racist scholars. In fact, he鈥檚 literally written a book about the subject, 鈥淗ow to Be an Antiracist,鈥� which is one of his three New York Times bestsellers. He shared his expertise on this topic and more with a 91大神, Baltimore (UMB) audience Feb. 17 as the guest for UMB鈥檚 first President鈥檚 Panel on Politics and Policy of 2021.
UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, queried Kendi during the hourlong virtual event, noting that he was eager to learn about how UMB can examine its practices and policies to diminish inequities and create a more equitable environment at the University.
鈥淢y goal is for everyone at UMB to fulfill their potential, contribute to our community, feel a sense of belonging and accomplishment, and be themselves. I hope that today鈥檚 conversation will help us come up with ideas and actions to make that happen,鈥� Jarrell said.
Kendi spoke on a series of topics including voter suppression, the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, slavery and white self-interest, reparations, and racial health and economic disparities. He used COVID-19 and its effects in the United States to expand on his anti-racist definition, noting that the pandemic has hit minorities the hardest from health and economic perspectives.
鈥淭o be racist is to either deny the existence of inequities and disparities in our society, or to look at those disparities and say, 鈥榃ell, Black people are dying at higher rates from COVID-19 because there鈥檚 something wrong with them 鈥� they鈥檙e not socially distancing, they have more pre-existing conditions, they鈥檙e lazy, they don鈥檛 eat right, they don鈥檛 exercise,鈥� he said.
鈥淎nd so it鈥檚 this constant blaming of people, in considering people to be inferior behaviorally, culturally, or even biologically, as the cause of disparities in our society.鈥�
It鈥檚 not enough to blame pre-existing conditions for the higher rates of COVID-19 mortality, Kendi said. It鈥檚 what causes the disparities that matters.
鈥淲hen you study this issue, you鈥檒l find that the greatest factors are access to health insurance and living in so-called trauma deserts where there鈥檚 no access to high-quality, life-saving trauma care,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also being less able to work from home and living in neighborhoods with higher levels of air and water pollution. But people are constantly thinking that a particular racial group is the problem, and they don鈥檛 recognize that actually it鈥檚 power and policy that are the problems.鈥�
Shifting to politics, Kendi decried what he called an assault on the ability of all Americans to vote and said the U.S. Capitol riot last month wasn鈥檛 too shocking if you are a student of history.
鈥淵ou have some elected officials who say, 鈥業 don鈥檛 have enough votes to win, so I鈥檓 going to suppress the votes of my political opponents,鈥� 鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that becomes the cradle for voter suppression policies like voter ID laws, modern-day poll taxes that tell former felons they have to pay off all their fines before they can get reinstated on voter rolls, or the cutting of voting sites in Black and Brown communities.
鈥淲atching the riot on TV, it was very familiar to me, because as a student of African American history, I know there have been so many attempted coups and successful coups on multiracial governments, specifically following the Civil War.鈥�
Kendi also said the riot merely confirmed FBI and law enforcement warnings that white supremacists are the greatest domestic terrorist threat of our time.
鈥淭hey showed it on Jan. 6,鈥� he said. 鈥淒uring the attack, I called my mother, and the first thing she said to me was that if those rioters had been Black, they would have all been dead.鈥�
There remains a powerful segment of Americans who will continue to push back against anti-racist efforts, Kendi said, but he hopes they eventually will realize that their movement is 鈥渉eading off a cliff for themselves, let alone for the nation.鈥�
鈥淭here is a commanding majority of Americans of all races, backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, and genders who recognize that racism is a big problem and who are committed to creating a more equitable and just country,鈥� he said, adding that he鈥檚 hopeful the Biden administration will make good on its promise to root out systemic racism in the country.
鈥淚 just want results,鈥� Kendi said. 鈥淎nd the data will show it: whether there鈥檚 a decline in the number of people killed by police; whether there鈥檚 a decline in the racial wealth gap; whether there鈥檚 an increase in housing and food security among Black and Brown people. Ultimately, we should be judging our elected officials, no matter their political party, by their results."
(UMB is sponsoring a book club-style discussion of Kendi鈥檚 鈥淗ow to Be an Antiracist.鈥� Click here for details.)
