Jason Reynolds

Ibram X. Kendi

A timely, crucial, and empowering exploration of racism--and antiracism--in America This is NOT a history book. This is a book about the here and now. A book to help us better understand why we are where we are. A book about race. The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited. Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by beloved award-winner Jason Reynolds, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas--and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.

A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

The #1 New York Times bestselling, "must-read" (San Francisco Chronicle), "amazingly timely and stunningly accessible" (Jacqueline Woodson) exploration of race and racism from award-winning, beloved authors Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, now in paperback. This is NOT a history book. This is a book about the here and now. A book to help us better understand why we are where we are. A book about race. The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited. Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by beloved award-winner Jason Reynolds, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas--and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives. Download the free educator guide here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Stamped-Educator-Guide.pdf

Hannah Yoon

This was so well written and even great for adults to read. Reynolds keeps it simple, fun and very direct with the way he describes the racist practices and policies of our country. It deepens one's understanding of how racism is deeply rooted in this country and how it has never gone away, but only changed with time. 

"We can't attack a thing we don't know. That's dangerous. And...foolish. It would be like trying to chop down a tree from the top of it. If we understand how the tree works, how the trunk and roots are where the power lies, and how gravity is on our side, we can attack it, each of us with small axes, and change the face of the the forest."

"A history of racist and antiracist ideas in America, from their roots in Europe until today, adapted from the National Book Award winner Stamped from the Beginning"--

Racism, Antiracism, and You

Stamped

Joy Bush

This is such a great book, and I recommend the audiobook highly, its only 4 hours. 
Make this required reading for all.

claire law

such a great way to learn the history of Black america that we didn’t learn in school

Ryan LaFerney

Jason Reynolds has written an effective, timely and accessible manifesto regarding racism, antiracism, and what it has to do with all of us here in the US. Essentially, Stamped is a remix of Ibram X. Kendi's important work on the history of racism (Stamped From The Beginning) written for young people. This not-a-history-book-history-book-about-race is told with passion, humor, and honesty. Jason Reynolds takes Dr. Kendi's break down of history and makes it easy to understand. Highly recommended for teens (and adults!). I learned many things a bout the history of racism from this book and was challenged by what I read. A trans formative read.

Elyssa Parker

Tracie McMurray

The delivery is awesome. Jason Reynolds is very engaging, it gave me lots to think about.

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

Outstanding nonfiction written with energy and intimacy as Reynolds tackles the three words used to describe race relations and identities:

Segregationists - the haters, "people who hate you for not being like them."

Assimilationists - the people who "'like' you because you're like them."

Antiracists - the people who "love you because you are like you" (3-4).

These identities can intertwine, which can create rage, disappointment, and hope in turn. These terms provide throughlines to his careful deconstruction of the history of race in the world. Unputdownable, I finished the book in a day and will be thinking about and using these words very intentionally from now on.

Jeff Brown 

** spoiler alert **
           You MUST listen to the audiobook, and this audiobook MUST be placed in the hands (or audio devices) of every child, and adult as well.

Jason presents a difficult, complex, frustrating topic in a refreshing, slightly comical tone early on, but with more serious intensity in the latter portion. 

It was like, from 200-600 years ago, sure, every person of power was white, so with whatever stupid things they came up with to run the world/country, those were the rules. No matter how sick and distorted. One serious point that Jason makes comical was that from his opinion, Thomas Jefferson was the first person that went around saying, "Yeah, I have black friends!" It didn't matter that while he grew up with them, then, and later in life, he owned them.

An observation of my own -- Jefferson thought that it would help his "friends" if he could send some of them back to Africa, despite generations of people having never been to Africa. Tweak it a little, and it sounds like a current controversial matter.

"Assimilation" should be part of the title, because he takes a pretty good shot at some famous people, such as W.E.B. DuBois. He started out as an assimilationist in his intent upon supporting antiracism, but he only gets there near the end of his life. Abraham Lincoln could be seen as a supporter of assimilation -- he saw the opportunity of whites and blacks having equal opportunities, but felt the white man was superior.

For racists, Woodrow Wilson took some shots. Truman's Civil Rights initiation broke up the Democratic party into the Dixiecrats. 

But Jason's tone changed when he got further into the 1950s. Emmitt Till. The four girls killed in a church bombing. Malcolm X. MLK, Jr. Civil Rights Act. Watts. The Black Panthers. He really went off on Nixon. 

Rodney King was just one example of the people in power, over 75 years, since WWI black soliders left Europe heroes, and returned home with no respect. And as they tried to get some, the Klan, the Dixiecrats, the police beatings reached a fever pitch (for that time).

Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43 -- all racists from his point of view. And some of the points are quite glaring in retrospect.

But the shocker is his summation of Obama. Following his election, "(the people) were inraptured by the antiracist potential of a black president. But like my mama says, 'There not much payout for potential, is there?' President Obama was a symbol. Yes, one of hope, one of progress, but also a symbol for assimilationism."

I'm getting too close in the political edge here, but these are Jason's words. Listen to them. He lit Obama up. And that shocked me.

And it shouldn't have. As he mentioned increasingly as time went on, his Afterword about what it will take to have everyone be antiracist, and not riding the fence, was inspiring. 

A "non-History" History book -- one I will listen to again someday.

Sahi K

Stamped from the Beginning has been on my tbr since a long time, but as someone who tries to read a lot of books to escape reality (and the real world in general), I’m not always good at catching up with the important nonfiction books that bring light to the ugly truths that exist in our world. But attending a talk and getting to listen to Dr. Kendi speak in such close quarters was truly eye opening and I knew that I had to read his book soon. But then came the announcement of this remix version of Stamped by Jason Reynolds and I thought I’ll read it first, just to get an idea about the original that inspired it before deep diving into Dr. Kendi’s work. And I think I made the right choice. 

Firstly, I have to mention that I listened to the audiobook and Jason’s narration is spectacular. There’s just no other word for it. The whole book (and narration) feels like Jason is having a conversation with us, just explaining us the historical truth behind racism in a simple but effective manner, in a way that’ll make us think and want to read more about all the racists and antiracist activists who are mentioned within these pages. He insists multiple times that this is not a history book, and it may not be in a conventional sense, but I feel it is indeed a historical account of the origin and perpetuation of racist ideas and an accounting of all the people who are responsible for the extremely racially divided world we live in today. 

Just like what Dr. Kendi spoke about in his talk, Jason gives us clear distinctions between segregationists, assimilationists and antiracists and how the ideas each of them perpetuate have been a part of America since it’s inception. But one clear point he makes is that every person can contain multitudes, have both racist and antiracist ideas, or gradually change our beliefs from one to the other - but the most important thing is that if we want to confront the racism that has been entrenched in American society for centuries and has been the backbone of all the prosperity that white people have enjoyed, it is not enough just to not be racist, we have to actively be antiracist and fight against any idea or policy that is not for complete racial equality. 

There are a lot of historical figures who get mentions in this novel and as someone who doesn’t know much about the revolutionary war or the founding fathers or even the Civil war, there were many things I was very surprised to learn, especially about Jefferson and Lincoln. As the narrative moves on to Jim Crow and later the world wars, we also get to know more about intellectuals and activists like W. E. B. Dubois or Booker T. Washington, MLK Jr and Malcolm X and even Bill Cosby - and the difference in their ideas, which were quite contradictory to each other and sometimes even harmful to black people in the long run. 

Another narrative that I found throughout the book is how racists have used media and literature and even science to their advantage time and time again to give credence to their horrible ideas, and the inevitable fact that if you keep hammering people with a certain idea over and over, they will believe it to be the truth even though exactly opposite of that. I was appalled to read about some of the books and movies that were essentially used as propaganda at the right moments in history to provoke white rage and fear and lead to violence against black people. And I promise you, if you aren’t aware of racist history much, then after reading this book, you will never see classic movies like Tarzan, Rocky or Planet of the Apes in the same light ever again. 

This might feel abrupt and there is so much I could talk about this book, but ultimately it’s a small one and I think you should read it for yourself. If you enjoyed Stamped from the Beginning and want an easier version of it for younger readers, or just want to read an accessible version of the book, you should totally check this out. It may not be comprehensive, but it is a brilliant concise account of the history of racist ideas in this country and also a wonderful beginning for any other future readings we might wanna do on these important topics. I also highly recommend the audiobook because Jason’s narration brings fire to the writing and you’ll not want to put it down at all.

Samirah Arif

This book was absolutely necessary. Through this book, I unlearned so many lies and unlearned so much racism. The writing style was perfect, easy to read for everyone. It was entertaining too. Plus, it was well-research and it wasn't biased.

Melissa Deitrick

Absolutely powerful read. If you want the information and hard-hitting facts without the fluff, you should be considering this book. 

This isn’t homework reading from middle school - you’ll feel like a friend is educating you through conversation. And because of the fast paced, no nonsense telling, you’ll be intrigued (and horrified) all the way through. 

I had to force myself to only read a few chapters at a time to digest the information presented and sit with it awhile.

Yoomi

One of the best books I’ve read this year. This should be required reading.

Lauren Lopez

Please pick up the audiobook of this. It's narrated by Jason Reynolds and it feels like he is just having a conversation with you. He "remixed" this version of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's Stamped From the Beginning in a way that will make it more relatable and accessible for young readers. Reynolds' narration style keeps the listener engaged all the way through the acknowledgements.

Julia

This was a fast and easy to understand introduction into the systematic racism that is still happening. If you don't have any or very few knowledge of this topic - like me - then this will be good first start.

Jeni Enjaian

Having read the adult version of this book, I had not planned on reading this adapted version of the book until its place on both the SCSLA (South Carolina School Librarians Association) Junior Book Award nominee list and the Young Adult Book Award nominee list. I'm glad they placed this book on the list. I learned so much from the adult version of this book that I finished just a couple months ago. Also, I have an immense amount of appreciation for and awe of Jason Reynold's writing. That being said, I did approach the book with a bit of hesitation because I have not before read an adaptation for younger readers of a book that I have already read. 
Of course, Reynolds knocks this adaptation out of the park. I found the streamlined historical narrative thread much easier to follow in this book. I found the wording apt although at times a little bit too "hip" (as in an adult trying too hard to be clever). For that reason alone, I did not give the book 5 stars although I came close in my rating. I definitely recommend this book and as a social studies teacher, I will be purchasing a copy to keep in my classroom.

Cindy

Stamped is the crash-course we all need.

I love Jason Reynolds' narration; it's got zest, cheek, and so much energy. I admire how Stamped plainly distills the troubled and disturbing cracks within American history, but never once compromises on its message that to be racist is to be antiracist. I love how the book recognizes and celebrates the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality. There are many things about the book that I love.

If you need a primer on antiracist literature, this is a great place to start. Hell, even if you don't need the primer, you should still read it anyway.

Taylor McNeely

This book was so amazing! I listened to the audiobook and Jason Reynolds did such a great job narrating this story. I loved how he talked about serious issues, but also threw in some jokes to balance the seriousness. I agree with another reviewer who said she would listen to Reynolds narrate the phone book because that’s how much power and heart he put into this audiobook. .
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I recommend this to anyone trying to learn more about racism and how it’s been ingrained in our history. I thought I learned a lot about racism in history during high school and college, but I was listening to this book being like WHAT??!! I didn’t know that happened??!! Listen, I’m going to be recommending this book to every person I know, so just read it already!

I’d started Stamped a few weeks back and quickly got sucked in. It’s such an interesting and educational book. This is my first time reading anything by Jason Reynolds and I basically want to gobble up everything he’s ever written. Stamped gave me a lot to think about and I learned more about the history of racism in this country from this book than I did in all of my high school and college classes. Which isn’t exactly surprising. Disappointing, but sure not surprising.

If you’re looking for a place to start your own antiracism education I can’t recommend Stamped highly enough.

Daryl Houston

I bought the wrong book. I had intended to get Kendi's book on which this is based. It was perhaps a happy mistake, however, as I enjoyed the book. It offers, I presume, a much diluted sketch of the history of racism that Kendi provides. Reynolds makes it accessible. At times, his appeals to the young reader strike me as a little patronizing (as when a youth counsellor turns his chair around backwards for some "real talk" or whatever), but maybe that works on kids?

Dani

I’m really glad I managed to get this book, it’s packed with interesting information and facts I’m not used to because I’m not that close to US history and current events. A good first step.

Megan Weber

I don’t usually write out reviews but this book deserved it. It’s a clearly written, accessible account of United States history like you’ve never learned it before. Probably should be required reading in every school. This stuff is important.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning

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