"This is not a history book...." There's so much packed in that one profound statement that Jason Reynolds reiterates at the beginning of Stamped: Antriracism, Racism, and You by Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. Simply put, it means that this book is not another boring book full of whitewashed history that will bore teens to sleep. Another possible meaning is that this book is different....It's filled with the other voices....the marginalized voices that have not always been heard in many of the published textbooks teens are regularly told to read. One other meaning is that the contents of this book are not truly history....
Wait. What does that mean? How could a book about moments in history and historical figures not be about HISTORY? Could it possibly because much of history is still alive today.....or, at least, the echoes of people of the past are still very much present today?
That's a big, almost abstract idea, however, unfortunately, it is the reality. Despite what many might say, the remnants of the past can clearly be seen today, due to deeply-rooted systemic racism and the racist and biased behavior of some of our peers. While it's common to turn on the tv or read the news and see headline after headline about racial injustice, adults need to remember and understand that younger generations are also being affected and have questions and thoughts about racism, antiracism, white privilege, racial bias, and more.
Teens deserve to have a voice and a space where they can safely examine the world, identify their own feelings and concerns, and determine how they hope to combat racial injustice. Stamped: Antiracism, Racism, and You was not written with just history and education in mind, but it was primarily written to show teens that they are heard, that they matter, and that the hope for a future filled with equality and justice is always of importance.
Authors Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds discuss how and why they joined forces to write Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You.
