Ibram X. Kendi Recommends 6 Books To Help Your Kids Understand Race

Ibram X. Kendi has been reading a lot of books about "the human rainbow" to his daughter — so we asked him to recommend some books kids can read to gain a better understanding of race in America.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The writer Ibram X. Kendi has been reading books to his 5-year-old daughter. And when he chooses those books, he makes sure they include many kinds of people.

IBRAM X KENDI: I'm also really excited now because her favorite color right now is the rainbow.

(LAUGHTER)

INSKEEP: Right.

KENDI: And so I feel like we're doing something right because we - I constantly emphasize the sort of human rainbow and appreciating it.

INSKEEP: Kendi is the author of "Stamped From The Beginning: The Definitive History Of Racist Ideas in America." He also produced a youth version of that work, a chapter book called "Stamped For Kids." So as we discuss summer reading on current events, we asked Ibram X. Kendi to recommend some other books for younger readers on race. One of his choices is "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone, which is about an African American teen attending a private school.

KENDI: And is really grappling with his own identity. And so he ends up writing a series of journal entries exploring the life of Martin Luther King to really understand his own identity. And, you know, I think teens everywhere, but especially Black teens, are constantly trying to understand who they are. You know, I love when books encourage young people to write and to express themselves.

INSKEEP: Oh, because the characters are writing. They're not telling you to write; they're modeling writing.

KENDI: Precisely.

INSKEEP: You have also sent along this title, "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson. What's it about?

KENDI: This book is really a memoir in verse about her life and her upbringing in South Carolina and in New York. And it's really a book that allows a young person to really explore what it means to be a child, particularly a child in this world. But I think what I really found fascinating about this book - and why I can't wait till Imani reads it one day, you know - is because you can just tell through this text just how much, you know, Jacqueline came to love stories and storytelling despite the fact that she struggled to read as a child.

INSKEEP: Let's talk about two more books here. "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika Sanchez.

KENDI: Well, I think one of the things I'm trying to teach my daughter is the beauty about humanity is our imperfections. And, you know, I think Juan Felipe Herrera spoke about this book as a perfect book about imperfection.

INSKEEP: (Laughter).

KENDI: And I don't know whether - I mean, I feel like quoting his statement - I don't know if there's a better way to describe, you know, "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter."

INSKEEP: How is the - I guess it's the narrator saying, I am not your perfect Mexican daughter. How is she expressing that?

KENDI: Well, it's, you know, really a book in many ways about two sisters. And one sister is perceived, you know, by her mother as this perfect child, and the other child is perceived as this far-less-than-perfect child, to be diplomatic. And then the quote-unquote, "perfect" child tragically passes away. And then the, quote, "not perfect" child begins to learn more about her and begins to find that in many ways she was imperfect, just like she was.

INSKEEP: Wow. One more here - "The Black Friend" by Frederick Joseph, and the subtitle of "The Black Friend" is "On Being A Better White Person." What's that about?

KENDI: I think Frederick is pretty open in this book about this being a text specifically for young white people who want to be better, who want to be anti-racist, who want to be people who are striving to recognize and even take down the structures of racism. And so just like many white adults have begun to realize that this is something that is important, so too have many white teens.

INSKEEP: Because we're talking about books for young people, I feel obliged to ask what you've been thinking about as you have watched the debate unfold and intensify over the teaching of race in schools.

KENDI: To me, it's been tragic for me to watch because we, unfortunately, live in a society where there's racial inequity, and our kids are trying to figure out why. They see, you know, let's say, darker people, who are more likely to be homeless or incarcerated or impoverished, and they're trying to figure out why is that the case. And if we're not actively teaching them it's because of racism, then what are they going to conclude? The way we can protect them is by actively teaching them about racism, and so I think it's dangerous to not teach kids about why inequality exists in our society.

INSKEEP: A lot of white people are being told that their kids could be taught in school that they're just terrible people because they're white. In your mind, is that - I'm not sure that any public school is teaching that, frankly. But in your mind, is that what anti-racism teaching holds?

KENDI: Absolutely not. Any good teacher who's going to teach about racism and also its history are going to teach about people of different races who were involved in abolitionist struggles, who were involved in the civil rights movement, who are trying to create an equitable and just society today. So what a white student will learn is they'll learn about a white slaveholder and a white abolitionist, and they'll learn about why both said what they said and did what they did, and they'll learn which one had the morally right and just position.

INSKEEP: Are these lessons better taught at home?

KENDI: I think these lessons are better taught everywhere. And I think when our teachers are teaching it and the parents are teaching it and, you know, aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousins and friends - and we're just - we're so focused on ensuring that this next generation of Americans can view different-looking groups as equals and can ultimately eliminate - this really is a scourge of racism that this nation has faced. We're collectively focused on that. I mean, to me, that's what sort of gets me excited, and that's why I'm so excited, even about the books that are being produced today, that can allow us as parents and caretakers and teachers to facilitate these conversations.

INSKEEP: Ibram X. Kendi, it's always a pleasure talking with you. Thank you, sir.

KENDI: You're welcome, Steve. Thank you for having me.

INSKEEP: You can find his full list of recommendations at npr.org.

(SOUNDBITE OF GOOSETAF AND CHROMONICCI'S "VERDANT") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.