NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Based on the adult international bestseller by Ibram X. Kendi, How to be a (Young) Antiracist will serve as a guide for teens seeking a way forward in acknowledging, identifying, and dismantling racism and injustice.
“Gives teens the tools they need to create a more just society and encourages them to undo some of the damage created by generations before them.”—The Root
We can let racism stand, or we can stand against it.
How to Be a (Young) Antiracist is a dynamic reframing of Ibram X. Kendi’s international bestseller
How to Be an Antiracist, with young adulthood front and center.
Through the narration of acclaimed author Nic Stone, we follow a young Ibram as he learns (and unlearns) lessons that help shape his understanding of racism. Ibram’s life story and Nic’s engaging commentary throughout speak directly to the experiences and concerns of young readers, encouraging them to think critically and, in doing so, build a more equitable world.
Being antiracist is a journey, not an end goal—and now young people have a map to help them carve their own path.
On sale: September 12, 2023
Age: 12 and up
Grade: Grade 7 & Up
Page count: 208 Pages
ISBN: 9780593461617
Reading level: Lexile: 1120L
Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is the author of many books, including the #1
New York Times bestseller
How to Be an Antiracist and the National Book Award winner
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which was remixed for young adult readers by Jason Reynolds into
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, and adapted into a graphic novel by cartoonist Joel Christian Gill. Dr. Kendi was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the “Genius Grant.”
Nic Stone is an Atlanta native and a Spelman College graduate. Her debut novel for young adults,
Dear Martin, was a #1
New York Times bestseller. She is also the author of the
New York Times bestseller
Clean Getaway, the 2020 NPR Best Book of the Year selection
Dear Justyce (a sequel to
Dear Martin), the Rainbow Book List Top Ten selection
Odd One Out,
Jackpot, and
Shuri: A Black Panther Novel. She is one of the authors in the
New York Times bestselling book
Blackout, recently optioned for as a new anthology program for Netflix by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground.
"Heartbreaking, soaring, fulfilling, a deep-dive, this should be canon in high school classrooms and reprinted in pocket-size format for carrying around."
—School Library Journal, starred review"[A] book that seems to want to equip young people living now, in the midst of surround-sound injustice, open and almost gleeful bigotry—in public and in private—with the language and the skills to recognize they too have been drafted. Then it calls on them to decide if, where, and how they will revolt against that system."
—Time"An incredibly accessible read geared to teens . . . guided by Stone's energetic narration; kids will definitely see themselves in his [Kendi's] journey."
—The Boston Globe
"The young person's version gives teens the tools they need to create a more just society and encourages them to undo some of the damage created by generations before them."
—The Root"This important book is sure to inspire in those who do listen, investigate, and reflect on 'that dastardly villain racism,' much welcome discussion and debate both in and out of the classroom. It’s essential reading."
—Booklist, starred review"A notably effective adaptation. Successfully broadens the reach of the original to a younger audience."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Attention to gender, sexuality, class, and honest self-critique makes for an ambitiously inclusive addition to a growing booklist of youth-oriented racial equity work, but the concluding four c’s of changemaking—cogency, compassion, creativity, collaboration—are on full display here in a standout text."
—BCCB
