How to Be an Antiracist: Discussion Questions and Chapter Resources

Discussion Questions

Ibram X. Kendi

Questions (PDF) provided on the author's website.

Meriam Library Diversity and Inclusion Team

Questions(opens in new window) prepared for the Summer 2020 faculty/staff book group.

Book in Common Team

Questions prepared for chapter-specific discussion groups.

Chapter 1, "Definitions" (PDF)

Websites cited by Kendi in each chapter

Chapter 3: Power

No websites cited by Kendi in this chapter

Chapter 4: Biology

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-education-suspensions/black-students-more-likely-to-be-suspended-u-s-education-department-idUSKCN0YT1ZO

http://www.genome.gov/10001356/

Chapter 5: Ethnicity

http://www.wnyc.org/story/twenty-years-later-look-back-nypd-assault-abner-louima-and-what-it-means-today/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/68483.stm

http://www.pewhispanic.org/2017/09/18/facts-on-u-s-latinos/

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/04/09/a-rising-share-of-the-u-s-black-population-is-foreign-born/

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/americas-brutal-forgotten-history-of-illegal-deportations/517971/

http://soundcloud.com/siriusxm-news-issues/the-american-people-are-angry

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/cuban-immigrants-united-states

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/04/09/chapter-1-statistical-portrait-of-the-u-s-black-immigrant-population/

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/news/2012/12/20/48571/5-fast-facts-about-black-immigrants-in-the-united-states/

Chapter 6: Body

http://www.cnn.com/US/9510/megamarch/10-16/clinton/update/transcript.html

http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/winter05-06/conspiracy.cfm

http://www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/secession/2feb1861.html

http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/psp-pspi0000092.pdf (PDF)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/police-shootings-2018/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/fatal-police-shootings-of-unarmed-people-have-significantly-declined-experts-say/2018/05/03/d5eab374-4349-11e8-8569-26fda6b404c7_story.html

http://www.c-span.org/video/?59442-1/house-session&start=12042

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/13/opinion/did-blacks-really-endorse-the-1994-crime-bill.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/09/14/crime-bill-is-signed-with-flourish/650b1c2f-e306-4c00-9c6f-80bc9cc57e55/

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/usrv98.pdf (PDF)

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv16.pdf (PDF)

http://www.rti.org/news/report-more-half-violent-crimes-went-unreported-police-2006-2010

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/08/22/donald-trump-to-african-american-and-hispanic-voters-what-do-you-have-to-lose/

http://www.citylab.com/life/2015/03/how-black-owned-businesses-help-reduce-youth-violence/387847/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-youth-unemployment-urban-league-0126-biz-20160124-story.html

http://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/em/summer16/highlight2.html

http://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS14000018

Chapter 7: Culture

http://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adamserwer/bill-cosby-pound-for-pound

http://lab.musixmatch.com/vocabulary_genres/

http://www.city-journal.org/html/how-hip-hop-holds-blacks-back-12442.html

http://people.com/archive/gunning-for-gangstas-vol-43-no-25/

Chapter 8: Behavior

http://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1995/01/14/dc-residents-urged-to-care-join-war-on-guns/0b36f1f3-27ac-4685-8fb6-3eda372e93ac/

http://www.cnn.com/US/9510/megamarch/10-16/clinton/update/transcript.html

http://www.colorlines.com/articles/poll-trump-supporters-more-likely-view-black-people-violent-and-lazy

http://psmag.com/news/research-finds-that-racism-sexism-and-status-fears-drove-trump-voters

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/11/16/republican-appointee-resigns-from-the-dhs-after-past-comments-about-blacks-muslims-come-to-light/

http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/03/sat-scores-drop-and-racial-gaps-remain-large

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/03/04/new-sat-paying-off-for-test-prep-industry/blQeQKoSz1yAksN9N9463K/story.html

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawsuit_alleges_mississippi_deprives_black_children_of_equal_educational_op

http://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/where-do-we-go-here-address-delivered-eleventh-annual-sclc-convention

http://diverseeducation.com/article/1139/

Chapter 9: Color

http://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/03/14/the-us-will-become-minority-white-in-2045-census-projects/

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/04/opinion/sunday/what-biracial-people-know.html

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/13/doll.study/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/i-dont-normally-date-dark_b_5113166.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colorism-discrimination-iyanla-vanzant_n_4588825.html

http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/30/end-of-racism-oped-cx_jm_1230mcwhorter.html#50939eb949f8

http://www.history.com/news/scottsboro-boys-naacp-communist-party

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/17/straight-out-of-compton-casting-call_n_5597010.html

http://www.economist.com/baobab/2012/09/28/lighter-shades-of-skin.

http://www.newsghana.com.gh/mercury-in-skin-lightening-products/

http://people.com/politics/omarosa-trump-daily-routine-tanning-bed-diet-coke-unhinged/

Chapter 10: White

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/04/us/jeb-bush-roils-florida-on-affirmative-action.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/08/us/the-2000-elections-the-media-a-flawed-call-adds-to-high-drama.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/15/us/examining-the-vote-how-bush-took-florida-mining-the-overseas-absentee-vote.html

http://diverseeducation.com/article/1034/

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2000/12/flor-d06.html

http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/1-million-black-votes-didn-t-count-in-the-2000-2747895.php

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/dec/14/uselections2000.usa14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsYWD2EqavQ

http://www.npr.org/2017/10/24/559604836/majority-of-white-americans-think-theyre-discriminated-against

http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/veto-of-the-civil-rights-bill/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/04/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter/24341593/

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/11/politics/rudy-giuliani-black-lives-matter-inherently-racist/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2018/12/20/us/living-while-black-police-calls-trnd/index.html

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2014/06/where_does_that_billboard_phra.html

http://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2013/following-white-rabbit

http://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/research-starters-worldwide-deaths-world-war

http://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/civil-war-casualties

Chapter 11: Black

http://news.gallup.com/poll/163580/fewer-blacks-bias-jobs-income-housing.aspx

http://www.people-press.org/2017/10/05/4-race-immigration-and-discrimination/

http://www.senate.gov/CRSpubs/617f17bb-61e9-40bb-b301-50f48fd239fc.pdf (PDF)

http://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/search/african-american

http://www.newsweek.com/racial-makeup-police-departments-331130

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/blacks-blue-african-american-cops-react-violence-towards-police-n607141

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_315.20.asp

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2018/03/07/the-black-billionaires-2018/#19dd12935234

http://www.newsmax.com/antoniomoore/black-millionaires-wealth-wealth-disparity/2017/10/04/id/817622/

http://fortune.com/2018/02/28/black-history-month-black-ceos-fortune-500/

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/ken-blackwell-ohio-brown-senate/

http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/ken-blackwell/time-clean-our-elections

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/12/black-and-white-officers-see-many-key-aspects-of-policing-differently/

Chapter 12: Class

http://www.roadsnacks.net/worst-philadelphia-neighborhoods/

http://mic.com/articles/85223/paul-ryan-s-racist-comments-are-a-slap-in-the-face-to-10-5-million-americans

http://www.heritage.org/welfare/commentary/why-we-must-be-bold-welfare-reform

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/us/politics/18text-obama.html

http://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/where-do-we-go-here-address-delivered-eleventh-annual-sclc-convention

http://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/poverty-rate-by-raceethnicity/

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/08/21/through-good-times-and-bad-black-unemployment-is-consistently-double-that-of-whites/

http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/20/news/economy/black-white-wage-gap/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/28/black-and-hispanic-families-are-making-more-money-but-they-still-lag-far-behind-whites/

http://ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/The-Road-to-Zero-Wealth_FINAL.pdf (PDF)

http://www.americasquarterly.org/content/behind-numbers-race-and-ethnicity-latin-america

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/apr/08/global-inequality-may-be-much-worse-than-we-think

http://www.nber.org/papers/w23733

http://www.alternet.org/2018/04/racial-wealth-divide-holds-back-black-earners/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/08/12/black-poverty-differs-from-white-poverty/?utm_term=.6069bf66fb16

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/19/civil-rights-act-progress/4641967/

http://socialistworker.org/2010/11/18/race-and-us-socialist-tradition

http://bostonreview.net/race/robin-d-g-kelley-what-did-cedric-robinson-mean-racial-capitalism

http://socialistworker.org/2011/01/04/race-class-and-marxism

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/elizabeth-warrens-theory-of-capitalism/568573/

http://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/nov/14/worlds-richest-wealth-credit-suisse

Chapter 13: Space

http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2016/09/how-take-banksters

http://www.forbes.com/sites/roomykhan/2018/02/22/white-collar-crimes-motivations-and-triggers/#258d26351219

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/trump-minorities-living-in-hell-228726

http://www.bet.com/celebrities/news/2016/04/28/aisha-tyler-slams-hbcus.html

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704654004575517822124077834

http://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/hbcus-struggle-to-close-the-endowment-gap

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/16/black-colleges-are-the-biggest-victims-of-states-invasive-new-funding-rules/

http://www.chronicle.com/article/How-Are-Black-Colleges-Doing-/243119

http://news.gallup.com/poll/186362/grads-historically-black-colleges-edge.aspx

http://ncrc.org/study-documents-discrimination-black-entrepreneurs/

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3035972

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1615149

http://blavity.com/black-owned-businesses-get-pass-for-bad-service

http://www.aft.org/periodical/american-educator/summer-2004/jim-crows-schools

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/347/483

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/08/15/the-nations-teaching-force-is-still-mostly.html

http://www.iza.org/publications/dp/10630

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/opinion/sunday/integration-worked-why-have-we-rejected-it.html

http://www.vox.com/2018/3/5/17080218/school-segregation-getting-worse-data

http://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/where-do-we-go-here-address-delivered-eleventh-annual-sclc-convention

Chapter 14: Gender

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2009/02/the-math-on-black-out-of-wedlock-births/6738/

http://www.vox.com/2016/4/16/11408576/anita-hill-clarence-thomas-confirmation

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf (PDF)

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/06/black-women-economy/530022/

http://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/magazine/black-mothers-babies-death-maternal-mortality.html

http://www.brookings.edu/blog/social-mobility-memos/2016/10/21/6-charts-showing-race-gaps-within-the-american-middle-class/

http://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/12/15/a-mass-incarceration-mystery

http://www.cnn.com/2018/06/29/us/casey-anthony-10-years-later/index.html

http://www.themarshallproject.org/2017/12/15/a-mass-incarceration-mystery

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/19/upshot/race-class-white-and-black-men.html

Chapter 15: Sexuality

http://www.nbjc.org/sites/default/files/lgbt-families-of-color-facts-at-a-glance.pdf (PDF)

http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/williams-in-the-news/beyond-stereotypes-poverty-in-the-lgbt-community/

http://archive.org/stream/39002086458651.med.yale.edu/39002086458651_djvu.txt

http://www.hivplusmag.com/stigma/2017/3/06/whats-root-disproportionate-hiv-rates-their-queer-brothers

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-lives-matter-movement-awarded-sydney-peace-prize-activism-n816846

http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/02/18/op-ed-its-time-trans-lives-truly-matter-us-all

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kayla-moore-emerges-as-her-husbands-fiercest-and-most-vocal-defender/2017/11/15/5c8b7d82-ca19-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-alabama-senate-runoff-20170921-story.html

Chapter 16: Failure

http://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/abraham-lincolns-emancipation-proclamation

http://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/where-do-we-go-here-address-delivered-eleventh-annual-sclc-convention

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/23/support-for-2010-health-care-law-reaches-new-high/

http://www.democracynow.org/2007/7/10/the_case_of_the_jena_six

http://blackpast.org/1963-malcolm-x-message-grassroots

http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015079003128

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/us/21cnd-jena.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/plea-bargain-wraps-up-jena-6-case/

Chapter 17: Success

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/245881-hillary-americas-long-struggle-with-race-is-far-from

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/02/10/the-transcript-of-bernie-sanderss-victory-speech/

http://www.paramountnetwork.com/shows/rest-in-power-the-trayvon-martin-story

http://archive.org/stream/326700-full-transcript-zimmerman/326700-full-transcript-zimmerman_djvu.txt

Chapter 18: Survival

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/us/american-university-confederate.html

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html

Resources to Suggest?

To add additional discussion questions or chapter resources to this website, email bic@csuchico.edu.

How to Be an Antiracist: Discussion Questions and Chapter Resources

Discussion Questions

Ibram X. Kendi

Meriam Library Diversity and Inclusion Team

Book in Common Team

Websites cited by Kendi in each chapter

My Racist Introduction

Chapter 1: Definitions

Chapter 2: Dueling Consciousness

Chapter 3: Power

Chapter 4: Biology

Chapter 5: Ethnicity

Chapter 6: Body

Chapter 7: Culture

Chapter 8: Behavior

Chapter 9: Color

Chapter 10: White

Chapter 11: Black

Chapter 12: Class

Chapter 13: Space

Chapter 14: Gender

Chapter 15: Sexuality

Chapter 16: Failure

Chapter 17: Success

Chapter 18: Survival