Stamped from the Beginning: A Comprehensive Exploration of Racist Ideas in America

Paulette A Schriner: Showed documentary to my student in AP then bought book. This book is amazing. Written well. Lots of historical background. Easy to read. I'm learning so much and I've been teaching these topics for years. Worth the read and knowledge. And a colleague lent me his second book.

United States on Jan 19, 2024

Daniel Martin: Ce livre raconte en détail les problèmes d’esclavage et de racisme aux Etats-Unis, depuis leur fondation au XVIIe siècle jusqu’à nos jours.

On y apprend comment le développement de l’agriculture dans les états du sud est devenu complètement dépendant de la main d’œuvre esclave importée d’Afrique, au point de faire la guerre de Sécession pour conserver ses quelques 4 millions d’esclaves de l’époque. Cette guerre civile a fait environ 750.000 morts de 1861 à 1865, pour des raisons racistes autant qu’économiques.

Avec des centaines d’exemples à l’appui, l’auteur montre comment les esclavagistes ont trouvé des « raisons » philosophiques, biologiques et morales pour justifier les discriminations et la souffrance des noirs : on a « montré » qu’ils constituaient une race génétiquement distincte de celle des Blancs ; qu’ils descendaient d’un fils maudit de Noé ; que leur infériorité congénitale provenait du climat trop chaud de l’Afrique, et que leur incapacité intellectuelle était sans remède.

On a trouvé une jeune esclave noire surdouée, qui à 15 ans lisait et écrivait en anglais, latin et grec et...

France on Jan 02, 2024

steelroses: Book was wrapped in plastic. Great condition.

United States on Dec 18, 2023

Amazon Customer: A young people's version of "Sta,[ed" is being censored by school systems across the South, apparently it suggests that slaves were not cheerful and singing through slavery. Read the truth.

United States on Nov 08, 2023

Anna Sternfeldt: Historical knowledge we all should know.

Sweden on May 03, 2023

Leith Campbell: I am still reading this book, it is a page turner! The author has done a fantastic job with the available research there was on this subject.

Canada on Apr 02, 2023

Charlotte Elizabeth: I really recommend that everyone reads this book.

United Kingdom on May 29, 2020

Serenus Zeitblom: Viele Rezensionen hat Ibram X Kendi mit "Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America" in den Medien erhalten, 2016 auch den Sachbuchpreis des National Book Award,
Der selbst afroamerikanische Hochschullehrer sieht die US-Geschichte einmal konsequent aus der Perspektive des Rassismus. Das ist nicht die gewohnte Betrachtungsweise - Schwarze, ihre Versklavung bzw. Diskrimierung werden meist sonst nur kurz angetippt - und dadurch aufschlussreich.

Mit dem Finger auf "die da" in den USA zu weisen, wäre aber falsch - "Stamped from the beginning" sensibilisiert eher für den täglichen abstempelnden Rassismus hier wie dort. Und gegen andere Diskriminierungen aufgrund von Geschlecht, Orientierung, Geld, Herkunft, ... Kendis aufmerksame Hinweise auf Rassismus damals wie heute lassen sich nämlich so übertragen.

Kendi verwehrt sich dabei gegen "Segregationismus" (getrennte Entwicklung), aber auch gegen einen Assimilations-Rassismus, dass Schwarze sich einfach nur angleichen müssten/sollten. Seine "antirassistischen" Vorbilder sind die aufbegehrenden Angela Davis und De Bois, und auch deren Irrwege stellt Kendi mit dar.
Gute viereinhalb...

Germany on Jul 05, 2018

Kindle Customer: This book had a profound impact on me. It has changed how I view all political discussions, history discussions, policy discussions, and race discussions. As a Hispanic Caucasian, I was acutely unaware of much of America's racist history. I knew the obvious examples, but this book really shows how extensive the racism is and its profound effects that are still heavily in effect today.

Kendi's thesis is short and simple: racist ideas were created to justify racist policies. This is counter to the common argument that ignorance and racism spurs racist policies. Kendi lays out his main thesis at the beginning of the book and follows it up with example after example to back it up. Keeping the thesis and definition of racism simple really helps emphasize Kendi's point throughout the book.

This book is also thorough; so much history is covered by this book. I spent a lot of time looking up some historical events or figures in more detail on Wikipedia to get a fuller picture. If you are unfamiliar with American history, then expect to move very slowly through the text as you look everything up for proper context.

I absolutely love this book and strongly encourage...

United States on Apr 04, 2018

A. H. Wagner: About halfway through reading this book, I realized I was highlighting almost every single page and had to start color-coding my highlights so as to make a little more sense of why certain passages struck me—a visual testimony of how illuminating Stamped from the Beginning is. With a primary focus on racism toward African-Americans and people identified as Black, this book is a thoroughly researched, sweepingly comprehensive survey of racism from its first traceable roots in ancient Greece when Aristotle said Africans had “burnt faces” to the start of the African slave trade in 15th century Europe, to the first recorded slave ship arriving in colonial America in 1619, all the way through the Civil War, the Jim Crow laws, the 1960s Civil Rights movement, and up to the present day. In order to help readers navigate this extensive timeline, author Ibram X. Kendi divides the book into five parts, featuring one historical figure as a sort of tour guide or anchor for each part.

Very few individuals or institutions mentioned in this book come off as completely free of racist thinking; even many abolitionists and civil rights activists are revealed to have held racist ideas...

United States on Apr 26, 2017