How to Be an Antiracist

In Kendi’s third grade class, he had a White teacher who favored three White students and ignored most Black students. One day, Kendi saw a Black girl classmate raise her hand but the teacher ignored her in favor of a White student. Angry at seeing this racially informed favoritism, Kendi protested and went to the principal’s office for a formal reprimand. Kendi explained he felt that what transpired in the classroom was “unfair” (55), though he did not have the vocabulary of race to explain the dynamic between the White teacher and the non-White students.

When the principal called Kendi’s parents, they were not mad at him but informed him there would be consequences for future protests. Kendi understood. From that day onward, the teacher was less harsh toward the non-White students. However, due to this incident, Kendi’s parents decided to transfer him to a primarily Black, private Christian school after he finished third grade.

Using this story, Kendi reflects on his early understanding of biological racism, which rests on the belief that “the races are meaningfully different in their biology and that these differences create a hierarchy of value” (49). Modern society has always tried to use biological racism to assign value to different races.