Breelyn Webb

Author, educator, and activist Dr. Ibram X. Kendi spoke to students through a live-stream event sponsored by various Penn State colleges. The conversation was part of the celebration of the 125^th anniversary of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.

Cheraine Stanford, Content Strategy Director at WPSU, a PBS and NPR member station, moderated the event and encouraged viewers to ask their own questions as well.

When asked why he felt it was necessary to write How to Be an Antiracist, he explained, “I thought it was necessary because people asked. I know it’s not a profound reason.” He further explains his decision to use the book as a means to “chronicle the history of ideas that have historically challenged those racist ideas.”

Dr. Kendi spoke about terms often used in conversations around racism like colorblind, race card and anti-racist. He stated that the ways in which terms emerge and the context we use them is something that needs to be understood when discussing them. He explained colorblind as a term that, “Entered into the American sort of common vocabulary in 1997 and it was in reaction to President Clinton, at the time, seeking to lead a national conversation on race.”

He continued to break down the term, “And so the opponents, those who were like ‘we don’t need to talk about race, we’re colorblind, the nation is colorblind,’ indeed, “stop pulling the race card,” those two terms race card and colorblind sort of merged, or became quite prominent.”

“I don’t think many people who use that term, realize that this term was popularized to eliminate conversation on race and racism,” he added. Dr. Kendi expressed that being an antiracist is having “the courage, vulnerability, willingness to admit those times when we’re being racist so that we can strive to be antiracist.”

Regarding universities and enacting antiracist policies, Kendi described how some universities claim they are diverse based on their student bodies, but should look introspectively at the staff, policies and curriculum to encourage the idea that racial inequity is conditions, policies, and structures instead of people, and that research then encourages finding out what policies cause this inequality.

At Boston University, Dr. Kendi is working to organize researchers that study racism to work together and advise about racial disparities and the policies and practices behind them as well as take it to another level and connect the researchers to policymakers in order to create research-backed and easy-to-understand antiracist policies.

The conversation continued for an hour discussing a wide range of topics including taking the step to become an antiracist by getting informed, supporting racial justice organizations, elections and the parallels between voter suppression in the past and in the present election season.

Dr. Kendi gave closing remarks, telling viewers that “We have to be antiracist so we can create an antiracist society because we don’t have an alternative.”

The full conversation is available for viewing here.