In summer 2020, when my daughter was 2, everything was on fire. Ibram X. Kendi’s Antiracist Baby—a colorful, bold, and surprisingly deep board book—became a household fixture. We read it over and over during that first pandemic summer, my toddler pointing at the vibrant illustrations, while outside, the world erupted in protest, reckoning with the murder of George Floyd. The book’s message—that babies be raised to see race, challenge racism, and celebrate our differences—felt urgent in a way that a baby book rarely does.
By then, Kendi had established himself as a leading scholar of antiracism. His 2016 book Stamped from the Beginning, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, is a comprehensive history of racist ideas in America. Then came How to Be an Antiracist in 2019, a book that blends history and social commentary with memoir and Kendi’s own account of awakening to antiracism. In the summer that followed, it became a resource for people around the world who were trying to understand what they were seeing on their streets and in themselves.
Kendi’s books for a younger generation—his young-adult biography on Malcolm X, the graphic adaptation of Stamped—inspire me the most, as I’m always searching for stories to hand down to the budding thinkers in my life. His newest book, Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age, examines how great replacement theory—a xenophobic conspiracy theory that alleges there’s a plot to replace white populations in the West with non-white immigrants—has led our global society into an age of authoritarianism. Published at just the right time, it’s an essential addition to your shelf.
Where did you grow up?
Jamaica, Queens.
What places feel like home?
New York City. The DMV (Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia). My parents
moved us from Queens to Manassas, Virginia, when I was 15 years old. I’ve
remained drawn to the DMV, relocating back there last year to join the faculty at
Howard University in Washington, DC.
Other than family members, who or what has shaped you the most?
Antiracist intellectuals. The many people living and deceased who studied and
described racism and envisioned the world anew.
What is your favorite time of day?
Around dusk. That’s family time.
What are you really good at?
I put the most work in my crafts as a researcher, thinker, and writer.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
The courage of my parents.
Describe your favorite meal.
Anything vegan (as a vegan).
Sound or silence? (And if sound, what sound?)
I love the loudness of silence, as an introvert.
Where do you do your best thinking?
In the early mornings. As the sun rises my thoughts rise.
What journey—physical, creative, intellectual, or otherwise—has meant the most to you?
The journey to be antiracist.
Where do you like to read?
I have a lounging chair near my bed.
What’s the last rabbit hole you disappeared into?
I disappeared into a rabbit hole trying to answer: Why are more and more people
around the world submitting to their own domination? When I came out of the
rabbit hole years later, I had a book in my hands, my newest, Chain of Ideas.
Name three publications you enjoy reading these days.
The Emancipator. ProPublica. The Guardian.
What’s one longread that you can’t stop thinking about?
Capitalism: A Global History by Sven Beckert. It is long, over 1,200 pages.
What was the last book you read?
The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family by one of my
favorite scholars and authors, Dorothy Roberts.
What piece of nonfiction are you most proud of writing?
I am most proud of Chain of Ideas because it was the hardest nonfiction book I’ve ever written. From writing a global story that traces how a great replacement theory manifests differently across countries, to weaving current events with distant history, to writing the book as a political thriller with story pacing, cliffhangers, and more—it was hard. But I believe the harder a book is for me to write, the easier it will be for people to read.
What’s your most reliable way to get creatively unstuck?
Return to the lab of preparation. I spent a lot of time—frankly most of the time I
expend on producing a book—with preparing. Researching. Conceptualizing.
Outlining. So, when I find myself stuck as a writer, I know I haven’t adequately
prepared. I need to do more researching, conceptualizing, and/or outlining. And I
do.
Who’s a writer you turn to when you need some inspiration?
W.E.B. Du Bois.
What words do you overuse?
“Said” and “wrote.” Because I write about ideas! And I want readers to see the
ideas for themselves as often as possible.
What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?
As a cancer survivor, I am not much of a drinker, with recent studies showing
links between alcohol consumption and cancer. But I do get in a sangria or mixed
drink once or so a week.
What superpower would you like to have?
The ability to bring on the revolution to abolish racism, and other structural
bigotries, and other structural problems like poverty.
What animal or nonhuman being do you most identify with?
The Black Panther!
If you have a free solitary hour in your day, what do you typically do?
Climb the mountain! Meaning catch up on emails!
What five items would you place in a time capsule?
I would put five books on racism. So, humans millennia from now would be
reminded back when we attached meaning to meaningless skin colors and hair
textures, and deluded ourselves into believing racial disparities between those
racialized groups were the result of certain groups being culturally or
behaviorally inferior (rather than racist policies and practices). They would be
reminded back when we allowed racism and slavery and colonialism to exist for
centuries. They would read in disbelief, all confused. Maybe they would relieve
the tension with a good laugh at our foolhardiness.
What does your writing space look like?
I have a wide wooden desk to accommodate all my books, articles, and archival
materials when I write. At the center of the desk is an oversized computer
monitor for all the Word documents (and electronic research items) I have up
when I write. To the right of my keyboard is a tea cup warmer. To the left of my
keyboard is my water bottle. Behind me are floor-to-ceiling shelves for my most
prized possessions: books.
Ibram X. Kendi is one of the world’s foremost historians of racism and a leading antiracist scholar. He is the Carter G. Woodson Endowed Chair in History at Howard University, and the inaugural director of Howard’s Institute for Advanced Study. He is the author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and the international bestseller How to Be an Antiracist.
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