Speaker, author, professor, father and sports lover Ibram X Kendi is perhaps the most well-known anti-racist voice in the US. He’s Founding Director of the Center for Antiracist Research at American University in Washington DC. He’s a number one New York Times bestselling author, and a contributor to renowned institutions including The Atlantic and CBS News.
His books include Stamped, How To Be An Antiracist; the upcoming Antiracist Baby; and Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction 2016. Kendi is the youngest winner of the award, and says that he grew up dreaming about playing in the NBA (National Basketball Association), and “ended up joining the other NBA.”
As set out in a bio on his website, Kendi was born in 1982 to parents “who came of age during the Black power movement in New York City.” He studied journalism at university, initially aiming to go into sports journalism. But by the end of his studies he had become interested in racial justice, deciding to also major in African American Studies, and later earning a PhD in African American Studies from Temple University. In 2017 he became a full professor at 34 years old. In 2019, The Root 100 ranked Kendi as the 15th most influential African American between the ages of 25 and 45 and the most influential college professor.
Kendi is set to become Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research from July 2021, and will also be the 2020-21 Frances B Cashin Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for the Advanced Study at Harvard. Kendi has contributed academic essays to books and journals, and published in numerous magazines.
“Being an antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination,” Kendi writes.
Tags: Anti Racism, Ibram X Kendi, united states
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