How to Be an Antiracist Term Analysis

Race

Race is commonly defined as a group of people who share physical or social characteristics, but Kendi explains that race is actually a contrived idea used to divide and conquer groups of people. Kendi’s definition… read analysis of Race

Racism

Kendi defines racism as a “marriage” between certain policies and ideas. Racist policies create racial inequity, and then racist ideas serve to justify those policies and inequities. People can be racist on the basis of… read analysis of Racism

Antiracism

Antiracism is the opposite of racism: it’s a set of policies and ideas that creates and supports racial equity (whereas racism produces and defends racial inequity). But just like racial inequity comes from… read analysis of Antiracism

Assimilationism

Assimilationism is the belief that one race is inherently superior to another, but that these differences can be overcome if the inferior group changes to more closely resemble the superior group. Assimilationism and segregationism are… read analysis of Assimilationism

Segregationism

Segregationism is the belief that one racial group is inherently inferior to another and therefore must be forcibly separated from the dominant group. Assimilationism and segregationism are the two principal types of racist ideas and… read analysis of Segregationism

Dueling Consciousness

Dueling consciousness is Kendi’s term for how people struggle to separate and choose between two competing concepts of race. For African American people, this often means getting caught between antiracism and assimilationism… read analysis of Dueling Consciousness

Colorism

Colorism is a form of racism that specifically creates inequity between light- and dark-skinned people. Kendi points out that this is common within various racial and ethnic groups all over the world, but he focuses… read analysis of Colorism

Racial Capitalism

Racial capitalism refers to the historical links between racism and capitalism. Just like racism comes from a melding of policies and ideas, many of the deepest inequities in the modern world come from the historical… read analysis of Racial Capitalism

Powerless Defense

Kendi defines the powerless defense as the false and disempowering idea that Black people can’t be racist because they have no societal power. Kendi believes that the powerless defense protects Black racists, and that it… read analysis of Powerless Defense

Intersectionality

Intersectionality refers to how different kinds of inequity—racism, sexism, classism, and so on—intersect to produce more complex forms of oppression. The term was coined by feminist legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw. read analysis of Intersectionality

Eugenics

Eugenics is the practice of selectively breeding human beings in order to change the racial makeup of a certain population. read analysis of Eugenics

How to Be an Antiracist Terms