For the historian Ibram X. Kendi, the death of George Floyd while in police custody is yet another story in the long nightmare of the black experience in America.
In a recent The Atlantic article, Kendi argues that life for African-Americans in this country is a horror story, where toil, terror and trauma are as common as joy, love, peace and safety. “What one black American experiences,” he writes, “many black Americans experience,” and that experience is defined by danger. The cause of that danger is racism, and the antidote is anti-racism. Kendi joins us to explore the long history of racism in America and what we need to do to confront it.
Ibram X. Kendi is the author of How to Be an Antiracist [IndieBound|Amazon|Audible] and the National Book Award-winner Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America [IndieBound|Amazon|Audible].
CORRECTION: During our conversation with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, we incorrectly identfied the name of school that Dr. Kendi announced he will start working at in July 2020. Dr. Kendi will join the faculty of Boston University, where he will launch the BU Center for Antiracist Research.