More than 5,900 participants representing 11 area public libraries came together virtually on Monday evening, November 9 to listen to Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, one of the country's leading anti-racist voices, New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award winner and historian, as he discussed his book, How To Be An Antiracist. Kendi, selected by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020, engaged in conversation with WBEZ’s award-winning journalist Natalie Moore in this multi-library, live Zoom event.
How To Be An Antiracist explores what an anti-racist society might look like, and how we can play an active role in building it. The book has been described as an essential read for anyone interested in moving beyond an awareness of racism to the next step of contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.
“The denial of racism is the heartbeat of racism," Kendi said during a robust, 60-minute conversation with Moore, "and in order to report truth we have to know what that truth is."
Through a split-screen Q & A format, Kendi spoke to the audience from Boston where he is the Founding Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. Moore connected from her home in Chicago. Throughout their thought-provoking discussion, Kendi and Moore explored the cause and effects of racism, and Kendi offered insights on how to confront racism in our homes, communities and workplaces.
"The most important aspect for organizations and institutions is we need to be asking what can we do to support equity," Kendi said. "Every institution need to assess impact of practices and policies and then figure out ways to change policies and practices so that they are just and equitable."
Following his conversation with Moore, Kendi answered questions submitted by participants from the presenting libraries including the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Aurora Public Library, Deerfield Public Library, Glencoe Public Library, Highland Park Public Library, Lake Villa District Library, Northbrook Public Library, Schaumburg Township District Library, Skokie Public Library, Vernon Area Public Library and Wilmette Public Library.
Read and explore more with this selected booklist of titles available to borrow.
About Dr. Ibram X. Kendi:
Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and the Founding Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. Kendi is a contributor writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News correspondent. He is also a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow and the 2020-2021 Frances B. Cashin Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for the Advanced Study at Harvard University. In 2020, Time magazine named Kendi one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Kendi is the author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2016. Kendi is also the author #1 New York Times bestsellers Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds; and 2020's Antiracist Baby, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky.
About Natalie Moore:
Natalie Moore covers segregation and inequality for Chicago’s WBEZ. Her enterprise reporting has tackled race, housing, economic development, food injustice and violence. Moore’s work has been broadcast on the BBC, Marketplace and NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. She is the author of The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation, winner of the 2016 Chicago Review of Books award for nonfiction and a Buzzfeed best nonfiction book of 2016. She is also co-author of The Almighty Black P Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall and Resurgence of an American Gang and Deconstructing Tyrone: A New Look at Black Masculinity in the Hip-Hop Generation.
Moore's work has been published in The Chicago Sun-Times, Essence, Ebony, The Chicago Reporter, Bitch, In These Times, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Guardian. She is the recipient of the Chicago Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award, the Studs Terkel Community Media Award for reporting on Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods, a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism, the 2017 Voice of Progressive Journalism Award and other professional honors.