Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (National Book Award Winner)

About halfway through reading this book, I realized I was highlighting almost every single page and had to start color-coding my highlights so as to make a little more sense of why certain passages struck me—a visual testimony of how illuminating Stamped from the Beginning is. With a primary focus on racism toward African-Americans and people identified as Black, this book is a thoroughly researched, sweepingly comprehensive survey of racism from its first traceable roots in ancient Greece when Aristotle said Africans had “burnt faces” to the start of the African slave trade in 15th century Europe, to the first recorded slave ship arriving in colonial America in 1619, all the way through the Civil War, the Jim Crow laws, the 1960s Civil Rights movement, and up to the present day. In order to help readers navigate this extensive timeline, author Ibram X. Kendi divides the book into five parts, featuring one historical figure as a sort of tour guide or anchor for each part. Very few individuals or institutions mentioned in this book come off as completely free of racist thinking; even many abolitionists and civil rights activists are revealed to have held racist ideas that contradicted their cause. This made me realize the extent to which racism has ensnared the United States in its pernicious roots. In Stamped from the Beginning, Kendi presents two main ideas about racism that helped me understand its influence and progress over the centuries. First, he explains that “Hate and ignorance have not driven the history of racist ideas in America. Racist policies have driven the history of racist ideas in America.” The author admits, “I was taught the popular folktale of racism: that ignorant and hateful people had produced racist ideas, and that these racist people had instituted racist policies. But when I learned the motives behind the production of many of America’s most influentially racist ideas, it became quite obvious that this folktale, though sensible, was not based on a firm footing of historical evidence.” As Kendi explains further, “Racially discriminatory policies have usually sprung from economic, political, and cultural self-interests, self-interests that are constantly changing.” Now that I understand self-interest—not hate or ignorance—has been the driving factor behind racist policies, I can better understand why racism hasn’t died out with the Emancipation Proclamation or desegregation or any of the Civil Rights Acts passed in this country. Tragically, racism persists and continues to evolve according to the current self-interests of people and institutions in power. It’s why, after slavery was abolished, segregation and the Jim Crow laws rushed in to replace it, and long after segregation has been outlawed, African-Americans continue to be oppressed by disproportionate mass incarceration as well as disadvantaged by fewer, inferior housing and employment opportunities. Second, Kendi points out that racism is not simply a debate between those who support racist ideas and those who oppose racist ideas. Throughout history, three–not two–viewpoints on racism have persisted: “A group we can call segregationists has blamed Black people themselves for the racial disparities. A group we can call antiracists has pointed to racial discrimination. A group we can call assimilationists has tried to argue for both, saying that Black people and racial discrimination were to blame for racial disparities.” As much as I would like to believe I am firmly in the antiracist camp, reading this book made me realize I have held a lot of racist ideas from an assimilationist viewpoint that I need to correct. Kendi gives many examples of well-meaning civil rights activists, including some African-Americans, who upheld assimilationist ideas. Some persisted with these ideas their entire lives, others realized their error and later self-corrected to an antiracist viewpoint, and still others upheld both antiracist and assimilationist ideas, often not realizing the contradiction. Thus, a tragic pattern that has repeated itself throughout American history is the persistence of many assimilationists in seeking to abolish racist policies and ideas with the same flawed strategies that never work. Indeed, the African-American author admits, “Even though I am an African studies historian and have been tutored all my life in egalitarian spaces, I held racist notions of Black inferiority before researching and writing this book.” I think it’s crucially important that Kendi tells readers about his mistaken notions of race—not to make readers feel better about their own ignorance, but to demonstrate how deeply racist ideas have taken root in American culture. Hopefully this admission on the author’s part will ease readers out of their defensive mode and open their minds to the disturbing truth that racism is a lot more pervasive among us Americans than we would like to believe. If you want to understand exactly how racism took root in the United States and why it has persisted through the present day, if you are prepared for a very sobering, very painful, and often highly disturbing look at the many flaws, hypocrisies, and atrocities in the American notions of democracy, exceptionalism, and “liberty and justice for all,” then Stamped from the Beginning is a must-read. Ultimately, what the author conveys with copious examples is that “Black Americans’ history of oppression has made Black opportunities—not Black people—inferior.” An absolutely necessary emendation to the traditionally accepted canon of American history.

This book like the title says is a history of racist ideas in this country. The author does this by following the lives of 5 historical figures in American history. He starts from the beginning of the American colonies when racist ideas about Africans was beginning to be formed in Europe and the American colonies. The author contends that racism was not a result of the slave trade and slavery in Africa but were rather created to justify the treatment of Africans and Native Americans in the American colonies. Through the five parts of the book the reader finds out that while the terminology and basis of the racist beliefs change and modify it is stilled used to justify oppression and exploitation. One thing that I found especially interesting was how the author identified the different parts of the debate on race: Racist, Assimilationist and and Anti-racist. He also points out that these ideas can be held by anyone and often were held and deployed by people who were trying to combat racism. This shows that racist ideas are deeply ingrained in out culture and society among all races and ethnicity and it is by identifying this and the form these ideas take, they can be combated. I found this book especially interesting as it made me examine my own views on race and the inherent racism in my own ideas. What I found most interesting is how racist ideas and tropes are often used in combating racism making their efforts counterproductive. Despite it's size, this book is a fast and easy read and I found myself experiencing a little nostalgia in the last chapters. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American history or the history of race.

I have not reviewed many books on Amazon, but want to recommend Stamped from the Beginning rigorously and sincerely. At first, the scope of this work seems unimaginable, but then Mr. Kendi simply starts at the beginning and steadily traces the entire history of anti-black racist ideas from the start of the African slave trade in Portugal through the election of Barack Obama and subsequent projections of a "post-racial" America. A few things become increasingly clear: the perpetrators of these racist ideas cannot be educated away from them because THEY ARE AWARE, that espousing the virtues of "personal responsibility" is as old a tactic as slavery itself, and that the white perpetrators of racist ideas will only fight them when convinced it is in their self-interest. I learned an immense amount from Mr. Kendi's book not just about my country's own history, but its momentum. The multiple biographical accounts in this book serve to illustrate the insidiousness of racist ideas--many of America's most celebrated civil rights figures sometimes dealt in assimilationist or segregationist theory themselves. This work also emotionally portrays the disappointment of many antiracist thinkers when their efforts to educate the country on the effects of racial discrimination are heard and then summarily ignored. But this book also left me hopeful, not because "we've made so much progress despite having a long way to go" but because by illuminating the pervasiveness and detailed evolution of racist ideas, Mr. Kendi charts a path forward. I feel, empowered with historical context, ready to convince members of my own community that ending racial discrimination is not just a profound revolutionary responsibility, but in all of our self interest.

I really recommend that everyone reads this book.

Viele Rezensionen hat Ibram X Kendi mit "Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America" in den Medien erhalten, 2016 auch den Sachbuchpreis des National Book Award, Der selbst afroamerikanische Hochschullehrer sieht die US-Geschichte einmal konsequent aus der Perspektive des Rassismus. Das ist nicht die gewohnte Betrachtungsweise - Schwarze, ihre Versklavung bzw. Diskrimierung werden meist sonst nur kurz angetippt - und dadurch aufschlussreich. Mit dem Finger auf "die da" in den USA zu weisen, wäre aber falsch - "Stamped from the beginning" sensibilisiert eher für den täglichen abstempelnden Rassismus hier wie dort. Und gegen andere Diskriminierungen aufgrund von Geschlecht, Orientierung, Geld, Herkunft, ... Kendis aufmerksame Hinweise auf Rassismus damals wie heute lassen sich nämlich so übertragen. Kendi verwehrt sich dabei gegen "Segregationismus" (getrennte Entwicklung), aber auch gegen einen Assimilations-Rassismus, dass Schwarze sich einfach nur angleichen müssten/sollten. Seine "antirassistischen" Vorbilder sind die aufbegehrenden Angela Davis und De Bois, und auch deren Irrwege stellt Kendi mit dar. Gute viereinhalb Sterne.

Stamped from the Beginning” by Ibram X. Kendi is an outstanding achievement in historical scholarship. Kendi’s thorough research and eloquent writing provide a comprehensive and unvarnished examination of the history of racist ideas in America. Kendi artfully divides the book into five sections, each centered on a pivotal figure: Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Angela Davis. Through these narratives, Kendi reveals how racist ideas were formulated, spread, and adapted over centuries. His ability to contextualize these ideas within the broader framework of American history is both illuminating and impactful. One of the book’s greatest strengths is Kendi’s skillful debunking of myths and misconceptions about race and racism. He challenges readers to reconsider what they know about American history and to understand how deeply entrenched racist ideas are in the fabric of society. Kendi’s analysis is incisive and thought-provoking, making this book an essential read for anyone interested in the history and ongoing impact of racism. “Stamped from the Beginning” is not just a historical account; it is a powerful tool for education and change. Kendi’s work is both a revelation and a call to action, urging readers to confront the realities of racism and work towards a more equitable future. This book is a must-read for anyone committed to understanding and addressing the roots of racial injustice. Highly recommended!

Historical knowledge we all should know.

Ce livre raconte en détail les problèmes d’esclavage et de racisme aux Etats-Unis, depuis leur fondation au XVIIe siècle jusqu’à nos jours. On y apprend comment le développement de l’agriculture dans les états du sud est devenu complètement dépendant de la main d’œuvre esclave importée d’Afrique, au point de faire la guerre de Sécession pour conserver ses quelques 4 millions d’esclaves de l’époque. Cette guerre civile a fait environ 750.000 morts de 1861 à 1865, pour des raisons racistes autant qu’économiques. Avec des centaines d’exemples à l’appui, l’auteur montre comment les esclavagistes ont trouvé des « raisons » philosophiques, biologiques et morales pour justifier les discriminations et la souffrance des noirs : on a « montré » qu’ils constituaient une race génétiquement distincte de celle des Blancs ; qu’ils descendaient d’un fils maudit de Noé ; que leur infériorité congénitale provenait du climat trop chaud de l’Afrique, et que leur incapacité intellectuelle était sans remède. On a trouvé une jeune esclave noire surdouée, qui à 15 ans lisait et écrivait en anglais, latin et grec et publiait des poèmes ; un médecin diplômé et divers intellectuels noirs, mais les esclavagistes ont persisté à considérer tous les noirs comme indignes de sortir de l’esclavage, ou plus heureux esclaves en Amérique que libres en Afrique. Les Etats-Unis ont fondé en Afrique une colonie refuge pour les noirs libérés de l’esclavage, le Liberia, mais seuls 15.000 noirs ont accepté d’y émigrer. Aujourd’hui ce pays est indépendant et a 5 millions d’habitants. Après l’abolition de l’esclavage, d’anciens états sudistes ont trouvé des moyens d’en contourner certains effets de 1877 à 1964, en adoptant les lois ségrégationnistes Jim Crow. Aujourd’hui, malgré d’énormes progrès, des lois rendant difficile le vote des noirs sont encore en vigueur… Cet ouvrage magnifique a été un immense succès de librairie aux Etats-Unis. J’y ai beaucoup appris sur les problèmes de racisme, d’esclavagisme et de discrimination. Mais l’auteur ayant un vocabulaire très riche j’ai dû utiliser un dictionnaire de temps en temps.