Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

Kendi tells the whole tale of anti-Black racist ideologies and their amazing influence throughout American history in this well-researched and gripping novel. Stamped from the Beginning provides an insight into the divisive discussions between assimilationists and segregationists as well as between racists and anti-racists via the lives of five prominent American thinkers. From the fiery abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison to the brilliant scholar W. E. B. Du Bois to the renowned anti-prison activist Angela Davis, Kendi demonstrates how and why some of our most influential pro-slavery and pro-civil rights intellectuals have either challenged or contributed to the entrenchment of racist ideas in America.

Racist ideas did not originate from ignorance or hate, as Kendi demonstrates. The nation's racial disparities in income, health, and other areas were rationalised, and deeply ingrained discriminatory practises were defended by the creation and popularisation of racist beliefs. Racist beliefs may be refuted even if they are readily generated and absorbed. Stamped from the Beginning provides tools to uncover racist ideologies and, in the process, gives hope by illuminating the obscure history of these concepts.