Jason Reynolds' STAMPED Racism, Antiracism and You-Adapted from Ibram Kendi's Stamped from the Beginning

STAMPED: Racism, Antiracism and You written by Ibram Kendi with its abridged version by Jason Reynolds is NOT a history book.  It's a didactic, approachable conversion that addresses serious racist ideas and their historic impacts which have affected all of us. The perceived notion there's a natural human hierarchy which places Blacks at the bottom and Whites on top is a pernicious falsehood that's persisted like a plague on our nation.  Kendi & Reynolds have written a digestible historic & prescient book of detestable talking points.  These arguments dig in a deep & profound manner where the root of racism sprouted, how it has perseverated and the past & present carnage & oppression it has caused.  STAMPED enlightens without preaching, posturing or proselytizing for young adults and sensible people of any age.  STAMPED is a collaborative learning exercise that expresses the obvious flaws in White mentality driven by greed & and immoral justification of righteousness.   What dynamics contributes to racist hatred and suppression?  What has kept it alive for centuries in the US?  How has the construct of race & racial divides been misconstrued to maintain sovereignty through propaganda and our political & economic systems? When slavery was instituted it dehumanized Blacks endowing slave owners to treat them as chattel; birthing farming machines classified as livestock and not human.  The concept of one human being owning another is anathema yet it was not viewed as such, including many of our founding fathers.  This belief was maintained by Presidents Jefferson & Washington.  Both kept slaves throughout their lives maintaining the belief they were inferior by nature.  Is that taught in our school's history texts?  Propaganda perpetuated this thwarted mentality that relentlessly justified White supremacy and slavery.  The perpetuated myth was dark was synonymous with dumb & evil.  White was synonymous with smart & virtuous.  Laws have constrained black people from access to education, health care, housing, and equanimity in all wakes of society.  The authors clarify 3 distinct racial mind sets: segregationist (a hater) and assimilationist (a coward), or an antiracist (someone who truly loves) and how each group have rationalized racial inequality.  Segregationists argue (wrongfully) that Black people are inherently intellectually inferior & and irresponsible causing their own circumstances & inequities.  The history of racism in this award winning, not history book, is key to understanding how racism impacts individuals & society as a whole today.  Moreover, it's a sounding board for assessing how racism anchors us together and tears us apart.