How To Be an Antiracist Discussion Questions
Chapters 1 - 6
Questions 1, 2, and 4 were pulled from the “How To Be An Antiracist” Book Club Kit
In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi shares his own experience with racist thinking. How does his honesty help give us space to acknowledge and name our own racist behaviors and attitudes?
Kendi writes, “The only way to undo racism is to constantly identify it and describe it—and then dismantle it.” Why does he believe we need to call out racism when we see it, even if it can be uncomfortable to identify? Is there a time in your life when you had to make the difficult decision to call out racism?
Kendi writes, “The dual within Black consciousness seems to usually be between antiracist and assimilationist ideas.” Knowing that not everyone in this book club is Black, how would you characterize your own personal dueling consciousness?
The book’s central message is that the opposite of “racist” isn’t “not racist.” The true opposite of “racist” is antiracist. “The good news,” Kendi writes, “is that racist and antiracist are not fixed identities. We can be racist one minute and an antiracist the next.” What does it mean to have to constantly reaffirm your identity as an antiracist? Is there any benefit to the fact that you can’t just decide you are “not racist” or an antiracist and be done with it?
Which section of these first six chapters do you feel you learned the most from? What stuck out to you?
While going through these first six chapters, did you find yourself having flashbacks from moments in your own life? What was that like? Were they positive or negative flashbacks? Did the memory of those, coupled with the lessons of this book have you thinking of new ways you would have reacted had you been in those same scenarios with today’s knowledge?
“Black people are apparently responsible for calming the fears of violent cops in the way women are supposedly responsible for calming the sexual desires of male rapists.”
Chapters 7-12
Questions for this section came from the Penguin Random House First-Year and Common Reading Guide.
When did Kendi first become aware of his racial identity? When did you first become aware of your own racial identity? Did you learn about your racial identity in schools or at home?
How did Kendi internalize his individual academic struggles as being connected to his race? How do educational policies create disparities between racial groups? Can you think of a time that you have attributed someone’s behavior to their race? How can you practice separating racial identity from behavior?
What is Colorism? How is Colorism, including preferences for particular skin and eye colors, hair textures, and facial features, reflected in today’s beauty standards? Have you ever experienced instances of Colorism (being on either the giving or receiving end)? What steps can we take to build and support a culture that celebrates natural beauty?
Do people of color have power to eliminate racist policies and racial inequities? Is it possible for people of color to be racist? How is engaging in antiracist work different for White people than it is for people of color?
What is class racism? Why does Kendi describe capitalism and racism as
conjoined twins? How do racist policies connect and intertwine with capitalist policies? Can you think of an example of a policy that is both racist and capitalist?
“To be an antiracist is not to reverse the beauty standard. To be an antiracist is to eliminate any beauty standard based on skin and eye color, hair texture, facial and bodily features shared by groups. To be antiracist is to diversify our standards of beauty equally in all skin colors, broad and thin noses, kinky and straight hair, light and dark eyes. To be an antiracist is to build and live in a beauty culture that accentuates instead of erases our natural beauty.”
Chapters 13-18
Can Black People be racist towards White People? Can other POCs be racist towards White People? How do you define “racism” and being “racist?”
How does gendered-racism disproportionately impact women, particularly Black women?
What does it mean to use an intersectional approach when being antiracist? Why is it important to understand the intersections between privileges?
Why does Kendi compare the spread of racist ideas to the spread of cancer? What can be done to stop the spread of racist ideas? Do you believe that eliminating racism is possible? Why or why not?
How can you commit to following some of the steps to eliminate racial inequity
that Kendi outlines on page 231? How can you hold yourself accountable while practicing these steps?