How To Be An Antiracist / How to Be a (Young) Antiracist

A Brief Word before We Begin . . .
As I m sure you ve deduced from that whole Inspired by the #1 New York Times bestsellerHow to Be an Antiracist statement on the cover, this book is . . . inspired by the #1New York Times bestseller How to Be an Antiracist, the paradigm-shifting memoir written by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi.
And the inspired by is very important. Because this book is structured differently than its source of inspiration. Hence me, your beloved narrator, Nic Stone, including thispre-intro as a bit of a road map for the nonlinear journey you re about to take through Dr. Kendi s life.
Said journey is broken up into three parts (or acts, if we want to get all narratively fancy with it):
INSIDE: Facing Yourself
The concepts covered here definitions, dueling consciousness, power, biology, behavior, Black, and White are all about turning inward and are focused on examining the paradigms, aka foundational thoughts and ideas, that form our views of ourselves and other people.
OUTSIDE: Facing the World
Once we ve done some self-examination and rejiggering, it ll be time to turn outward and take a microscopic-level look into the ways that racism permeates the world we live in and intersects with other forms of people being awful to each other. We re talking color, ethnicity, body, gender, orientation, class, culture, and space.
UPSIDE DOWN: Flipping the World Over
This is where we get about that action, boss. We re moving from failure to success and digging into whatI Nic call the Four C s of Changemaking: cogency, compassion, creativity, and collaboration. We ll also make sure we have a solid grip on the power of pushing forward in spite of obstacles. And I know that a lot of you readers feel like you re ready to get out there and tear down the vile walls of racism, so, like, why not just jump to this section first, right?
Well, you could, obviously . . .
But in my humble opinion, it would behoove you to read the

Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone

"Heartbreaking, soaring, fulfilling, a deep-dive, this should be canon in high school classrooms and reprinted in pocket-size format for carrying around." School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

"...a notably effective adaptation. Successfully broadens the reach of the original to a younger audience."  Kirkus Reviews

"...an incredibly accessible read geared to teens... guided by Stone's energetic narration; kids will definitely see themselves in his [Kendi's] journey."  The Boston Globe

"The young person's version gives teens the tools they need to create a more just society and encourages them to undo some of the damage created by generations before them."  The Root

"Attention to gender, sexuality, class, and honest self-critique makes for an ambitiously inclusive addition to a growing booklist of youth-oriented racial equity work, but the concluding four c s of changemaking cogency, compassion, creativity, collaboration are on full display here in a standout text." Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"[A] book that illuminate[s] how each of us are gradually drafted into the thinking, the lies and distorted truths which can render a person unable or at least unwilling to challenge the systems and practices which masquerade as normal, as functional and fair. In reality, many of those systems drive and sustain vast inequality along with pervasive belief in group inferiority or superiority. [A] book that seems to want to equip young people living now, in the midst of surround-sound injustice, open and almost gleeful bigotry in public and in private with the language and the skills to recognize they too have been drafted. Then it calls on them to decide if, where, and how they will revolt against that system."  Time Magazine