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Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
30 reviews
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Stamped From the Beginning is a hard-hitting account of racist ideas in America, starting with colonization and working forward through the Obama administration. Kendi discusses the different approaches to racial equality – segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists. He also picks apart famous historical figures and shows the complexity of them – that the good ones had racist thoughts too.
I thought Stamped From the Beginning was an enlightening account of our history in this country. It’s not the story we’re told in high school history courses, but it should be. This three-dimensional painting of America’s racist ideas reveals a country that is deeply flawed and toxic, but still has the opportunity to change. America is an extremely patriotic country and most people have difficulty seeing its flaws. However, the only way we are going to be able to grow is to see those flaws and address them appropriately.
Kendi takes the reader chronologically through the years. I particularly enjoyed the parts on Abraham Lincoln (the white savior if you ever saw one, and not quite as pure-hearted as he is typically represented) and Angela Davis. Stamped From the Beginning addresses both male and female experiences, and even digs a little into the corrupt prison system.
While there is some intersectionality in this conversation, there is very little. Kendi discusses the male and female experience, but there was no conversation about the experiences of the Black LGBTQIAP+ community or the Black disabled community. There’s room to expand Stamped From the Beginning to be inclusive of these experiences as well.
As a professor and a historian, the things Kendi does present are extremely well-written and approachable to the average reader. Stamped From the Beginning should be taught in AP History classes in high schools at the very least, because it’s important for our education system to be more inclusive if we as a country are going to affect change in any venue. His cadence in the book is steady, the narrative is direct, and the pacing is good. I was never bored, and I learned things every time I listened to the audiobook.
I picked up Stamped From the Beginning because I read Jason Reynold’s remix of the book, Stamped, earlier this year, and I’m glad I did. While Stamped makes these facts more accessible to younger readers, you really don’t get the full picture unless you read the original text. I recommend both depending the reader, but Stamped From the Beginning truly paints a broader picture of the unpleasant truth of American history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Homophobia and Sexual assault
leighannebfd3b's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
decklededgess's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Most non fiction books give me the vocabulary to communicate ideas I was already familiar with this is an invaluable asset. This one though... I have come across a LOT of new information and innumerable ways of seeing through the societal structures we protect that continue to uphold racism and white supremacy.
Perhaps the most depressing yet enlightening tidbit was in the epilogue where the author says something along the lines of: you can't expect people to be altruistic but they certainly can function with "intelligent self interest" to see that the systems they protect actually do not help them at all.
Which....yeah dude that's exactly it.
Perhaps the most depressing yet enlightening tidbit was in the epilogue where the author says something along the lines of: you can't expect people to be altruistic but they certainly can function with "intelligent self interest" to see that the systems they protect actually do not help them at all.
Which....yeah dude that's exactly it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Medical trauma
bookmaddie's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs
tabitha_isabelle's review against another edition
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder
andreiaoh's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
very very very excellent, incredible, amazing + a bunch of other positive synoyms for this is probably one of the best non-fiction books i've ever read.
although this positions itself as "not a history book", i truly believe that this should be required reading for everyone. from the 15th century to the 21st, this book captures the enduring struggles that black people in america have had to endure in such a comprehensive and detailed matter, whilst still managing to not come across as overly dry. despite how dense this read was (it took me over a month to fully get through this balanced with all my school work and a bunch of other reads in between), i was still enthralled from beginning to end.
will perhaps write a proper review in the future but im struggling to string words together with my last two brain cells.
lastly, i highly suggest reading this via audiobook format too as it can speed up the reading process and also v good for understanding some of the historical events and other large chunks of information!
although this positions itself as "not a history book", i truly believe that this should be required reading for everyone. from the 15th century to the 21st, this book captures the enduring struggles that black people in america have had to endure in such a comprehensive and detailed matter, whilst still managing to not come across as overly dry. despite how dense this read was (it took me over a month to fully get through this balanced with all my school work and a bunch of other reads in between), i was still enthralled from beginning to end.
will perhaps write a proper review in the future but im struggling to string words together with my last two brain cells.
lastly, i highly suggest reading this via audiobook format too as it can speed up the reading process and also v good for understanding some of the historical events and other large chunks of information!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Police brutality
mezzarella's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Ever since I read Ibram X. Kendi's book How to be an Antiracist, I've been meaning to read Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. While I am no means an expert in racial politics or antiracism, I was stunned by how much I didn't know even after making the conscious effort to be more aware of how race affects my everyday life. I really appreciated how Kendi focused this story over 5 key historical figures, and used that as a tether to the political climate of each figure's respective period in American History. It was also really eye opening to see how race affected the very standards we learn in school, such as Shakespeare and the Salem Witch trials, even though race was never a part of any academic conversation at the very white schools I attended.
The humble nature of Kendi's work, where the author himself recognizes that everyone has an incomplete understanding of history and can improve on themselves to become more anti-racist, is very refreshing. It reminds readers that this is important, consistent, and constant work. Antiracism doesn't end with saying people are equal, just as it doesn't end with education (or reading a book). Even so, I was really pleased with how comprehensive this historical analysis really was. After reading, I felt like I walked away with a missing volume of history. As we continue to become more inclusive and accepting as a nation, I hope that this book replaces others in educational curricula. This is a book everyone should be exposed to at least once.
The humble nature of Kendi's work, where the author himself recognizes that everyone has an incomplete understanding of history and can improve on themselves to become more anti-racist, is very refreshing. It reminds readers that this is important, consistent, and constant work. Antiracism doesn't end with saying people are equal, just as it doesn't end with education (or reading a book). Even so, I was really pleased with how comprehensive this historical analysis really was. After reading, I felt like I walked away with a missing volume of history. As we continue to become more inclusive and accepting as a nation, I hope that this book replaces others in educational curricula. This is a book everyone should be exposed to at least once.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
anigoose's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
5.0
I have both the audiobook and ebook, and I just wanted to share that I struggled a little with the audiobook. It was edited a little patchily and there would be audible (lol) differences between sound quality for sometimes just a word inserted into a sentence, or for a sentence in a paragraph. There are also occasional mouth sounds in the recording. If you are ND and have sensory issues this might be a problem for you. I could only listen with binaural beats in the background and whilst doing something like knitting.
It's not a knock on those who made it, or even a complaint, just a head's up for other folks with sensory processing issues!
It's not a knock on those who made it, or even a complaint, just a head's up for other folks with sensory processing issues!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, and Trafficking
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Homophobia, and Medical content
rubybooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I've been wanting to read this book for a while, so I placed a hold from my library for the audiobook. It finally came through this month, and I loved this so much. I've really been loving listening to non-fiction audiobooks, especially because for me it feels like someone is explaining the topic directly to me. In my opinion this worked really well for Stamped from the Beginning - it kept me engaged the whole time, and it's a long book, but I found all the information interesting and also easy to understand.
I made quite a few notes while I was reading, mainly because I was listening to the audiobook. I definitely also want to buy a physical copy so I can tab and annotate. I think this is the type of book that you should read multiple times because even though I write down some thoughts, there are probably details that I missed. And this is a long book that covers SO much! It's really hard to summarise all my thoughts into this review, but I'll talk about a few notable topics that stood out for me. I might update this review if I get a physical copy and reread it.
Stamped from the Beginning covers a huge length of time, from the colonisation of America to the present day and Obama's presidency. This is probably what I appreciated most about this book - it covered a huge amount of time, but didn't compromise on depth. I sometimes struggle with non-fiction "survey" books because they lack detail, but that was not the case with this book. Kendi discusses so many events, topics, and themes, some of which were already known to me and some weren't. Early on there is a discussion of the American civil war, the middle passage, independence, the great migration, and the history of lynching, as well as so many more things, such as an examination of famous figures like Thomas Jefferson.
I was happy that I did know a lot of what Kendi was referencing, such as the works of Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Patrisse Khan-Cullors. Kendi also talks about Black lesbians (and Black queer people in general), and he talks a lot about gender racism and I loved this attention on topics that have often been overlooked. After reading a few anti-racist non-fiction books I'm also getting better at remembering details about early colonial American history, as well as later events such as Ronald Reagan's war on drugs. Even then, there is so much for me to learn more about, especially as I'm not American so I didn't learn American history in school.
I really valued the discussion of multiculturalism vs assimilation vs anti-racism, which I briefly learned about in a politics class a few years ago. I hadn't properly considered how the desegregation of schools was assimilationist, as Black children were bussed to white schools and not the other way around. I also learned much more about W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X through Kendi's analysis. And even though I have read some of Angela Davis's work, I really want to read Are Prisons Obsolete? and I also have The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander borrowed because I definitely want to educate myself more on mass incarceration.
There is so much from this book that I didn't even mention here, so I would highly recommend just reading this for yourself. It's a must-read for everyone, especially if you're looking to read more non-fiction and anti-racist literature. I also own a physical copy of How to be an Antiracist, so I'm looking forward to reading more of Kendi's work. This book discusses the horrors of racism over the centuries, so be aware of content warnings for discussion of racism, slurs, lynching, rape, murder, war, mass incarceration, and drugs.
I made quite a few notes while I was reading, mainly because I was listening to the audiobook. I definitely also want to buy a physical copy so I can tab and annotate. I think this is the type of book that you should read multiple times because even though I write down some thoughts, there are probably details that I missed. And this is a long book that covers SO much! It's really hard to summarise all my thoughts into this review, but I'll talk about a few notable topics that stood out for me. I might update this review if I get a physical copy and reread it.
Stamped from the Beginning covers a huge length of time, from the colonisation of America to the present day and Obama's presidency. This is probably what I appreciated most about this book - it covered a huge amount of time, but didn't compromise on depth. I sometimes struggle with non-fiction "survey" books because they lack detail, but that was not the case with this book. Kendi discusses so many events, topics, and themes, some of which were already known to me and some weren't. Early on there is a discussion of the American civil war, the middle passage, independence, the great migration, and the history of lynching, as well as so many more things, such as an examination of famous figures like Thomas Jefferson.
I was happy that I did know a lot of what Kendi was referencing, such as the works of Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Patrisse Khan-Cullors. Kendi also talks about Black lesbians (and Black queer people in general), and he talks a lot about gender racism and I loved this attention on topics that have often been overlooked. After reading a few anti-racist non-fiction books I'm also getting better at remembering details about early colonial American history, as well as later events such as Ronald Reagan's war on drugs. Even then, there is so much for me to learn more about, especially as I'm not American so I didn't learn American history in school.
I really valued the discussion of multiculturalism vs assimilation vs anti-racism, which I briefly learned about in a politics class a few years ago. I hadn't properly considered how the desegregation of schools was assimilationist, as Black children were bussed to white schools and not the other way around. I also learned much more about W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X through Kendi's analysis. And even though I have read some of Angela Davis's work, I really want to read Are Prisons Obsolete? and I also have The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander borrowed because I definitely want to educate myself more on mass incarceration.
There is so much from this book that I didn't even mention here, so I would highly recommend just reading this for yourself. It's a must-read for everyone, especially if you're looking to read more non-fiction and anti-racist literature. I also own a physical copy of How to be an Antiracist, so I'm looking forward to reading more of Kendi's work. This book discusses the horrors of racism over the centuries, so be aware of content warnings for discussion of racism, slurs, lynching, rape, murder, war, mass incarceration, and drugs.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Murder
readandfindout's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
2017 first read: 4.5 stars.
A tabbed this book up so much. Everyone needs to read this, as it examines how every side of our history here in the United States helped racist ideas to develop into what they are today. This is a must read.
2022 reread:
Style/writing: 4.5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Perspective: 5 stars
A tabbed this book up so much. Everyone needs to read this, as it examines how every side of our history here in the United States helped racist ideas to develop into what they are today. This is a must read.
2022 reread:
Style/writing: 4.5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Perspective: 5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Murder
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