How to Be an Antiracist
by Ibram X. Kendi
32 jurisdictions · Banned 2020-2025 · Published
How to Be an Antiracist is Ibram X. Kendi's 2019 bestseller arguing that racism must be actively opposed rather than passively avoided, banned or restricted in 32+ U.S. jurisdictions.
Why it was banned
The book has been a primary target of state "divisive concepts" legislation. Cited reasoning often consists of Kendi's own definitions of "racist" and "antiracist" pulled out of context. The book has been removed from prison libraries in multiple states as well as school libraries.
Cited reasons
- divisive content claim
- critical race theory framing
Primary states
Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma
Why it matters
How to Be an Antiracist popularized the framework that drove much of the 2020 racial reckoning. Kendi's central argument, that the opposite of racist is not "not racist" but "antiracist," reshaped how a generation thinks about race. Banning the book in the years immediately following its widespread adoption is part of an explicit institutional response to the 2020 movement.
Themes
- antiracism
- contemporary politics
- race in America
Where to buy
The Ledger recommends Black-owned booksellers. Each stocks this title or can order it.
- MahoganyBooksNational Harbor, Maryland · Founded
Independent bookstore specializing in books written for, by, and about people of the African diaspora.
- Marcus BooksOakland, California · Founded
The oldest independent Black-owned bookstore in the United States, named for political activist Marcus Garvey.
- Semicolon Bookstore and GalleryChicago, Illinois · Founded
Chicago's only Black woman-owned independent bookstore, with a mission to raise literacy rates among Chicago Public School students.
- Uncle Bobbie's Coffee and BooksPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania · Founded
Coffee shop and bookstore in Germantown, Philadelphia, named for the founder's uncle.
The Ledger may earn commission on affiliate links. All commissions route to Black-owned booksellers.
Related banned books
Books in the catalog that share themes with this one.
Documented by The Ledger. A record of what Black America built and what was taken.
Book cover via Open Library. Editorial use under fair use.