There was no science to prove any of this. But who needs science when you have racism?

This should be required reading in all American schools. Kids need to know and understand this history (even if the author is quick to tell you it's "not a history book"). It really is absolutely essential. And Reynolds's adaptation is a very accessible, very necessary overview of 500+ years of racism and antiracism in the United States. Now I'm thinking I need to get my hands on Kendi's Stamped from the Beginning to expand on some of the ideas introduced in this book.

Jason Reynolds has done a great job of condensing a lot of information into less than three hundred pages. He has adapted Kendi's work to specifically appeal to young people and he uses humour and a conversational style to keep their attention. He certainly managed to keep my attention.

If you’re like me, you’re asking yourself, Was he on drugs? Yes. Yes, he was. The most addictive drug known to America. Racism. It causes wealth, an inflated sense of self, and hallucinations.

I studied the American Civil War, the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and colonialism in quite a bit of depth in school, so I expected to be fairly well-versed in the subject matter, but the book still taught me a lot of things. I was especially interested in the origin story of American racism and how Kendi traced the history back to a man he calls the "first racist".

It was also interesting - though, sadly, not surprising - to hear that the old "divide and rule" strategy played such a huge part in the formation of racist ideas. Every student who has studied colonialism knows all too well how those two words in tandem are the cause of so much war, destruction and prejudice. The British did it in India, leading to partition. The Germans and Belgians did it in Rwanda, leading to one of history's worst genocides. And a governor did it in Virginia to pit poor whites and black people against one another:

But the governor knew if Blacks and Whites joined forces, he’d be done. Everything would be done. It would’ve been an apocalypse. So, he had to devise a way to turn poor Whites and poor Blacks against each other, so that they’d be forever separated and unwilling to join hands and raise fists against the elite. And the way he did this was by creating (wait for it… ) White privileges.

If the racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric circling round the poor white communities of today's America is anything to go by, this policy has had consequences that are still being felt in 2020.

The Civil Rights Era stuff was mostly an overview of what I already knew, but it is essential reading for those unfamiliar with it. It introduces readers to the usual suspects-- MLK, Malcolm X, Booker T. Washington, Du Bois, Angela Davis, Marcus Garvey and Stokely Carmichael, to name but a few, and it looks at how racist thinking has not always escaped black writers and activists themselves. I was also pleased that the book spent a little time looking at the overlap of gender, sexuality and racism, and how black women and queer black women have had to deal with prejudice from different angles.

I took a number of things from the later chapters, as well. I just remembered how very much I want to reread Roots: The Saga of an American Family, which I thought was excellent when I first read it and I was too young to really appreciate what I was reading. I also did not know the Rocky franchise was basically racist propaganda. Now I don't need to feel bad that I've never seen it.

Reynolds also explained the "War on Drugs" to me, in simple terms, so I feel like, for the first time, I actually understand what happened there and how drugs became such a major part of perpetuating racial inequality in America.

There's a lot going on this book, and it's a testament to Reynolds's writing skills that it never feels overcrowded or overwhelming. Put this in the hands of all American teens.

By Emily May

 A thousand⭐️s. Wow. It's a must for every adult. It needs to be taught in history classes in every U.S. school as part of the curriculum. It's important. Critical. Don't wait! Read this book! Share this book!

STAMPED has the power to change false perceptions of race, crush lies, and bring about important change in laws that continue to promote racism and other forms of hate. BUT, that means we need to take positive action. Don’t wait! Start by reading this book. Share this book!

It's impactful to hear the authors read it. So if you can, I highly recommend that you listen to the audiobook. We know that certain books have the power to transform lives IF we learn from them & integrate the lessons learned into our lives. STAMPED is that kind of book.

For readers/listeners, STAMPED may be a start or a continuation to embracing antiracist behavior. That's why it's critical for this to be integrated into education. Don't wait! Read it. Share it!

By Liza Wiemer