Oct. 16, 2020
Chris Woodley • cwoodley@mailbox.sc.edu
The College of Social Work will host two upcoming virtual events focused on New York Times bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi. The events will discuss one of Kendi’s books, and an opportunity to hear from the author himself. Both presentations are open to the public.
The first event on Thursday, October 29 at 5 p.m. will be the College of Social Work Book Club’s discussion of Kendi’s 2019 bestselling book, “How to Be an Antiracist.” In the book, Kendi explains the widening circle of antiracist ideas, from basic concepts to visionary possibilities, to help readers better understand racism and its consequences, and work to oppose racism in themselves and systems. The New York Times wrote that “How to Be an Antiracist” is “The most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.”
University of South Carolina students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the public are also encouraged to attend a live virtual discussion with Kendi on Monday, November 9 at 4 p.m. EST. The event is sponsored by the College of Social Work, the I. DeQuincey Newman Institute for Peace and Social Justice, and the UofSC Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
“I hope that we all leave with a better understanding of our own blinders and what it will take for us individually and collectively to end racism and oppression in this country," College of Social Work Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Kirk Foster says. “I also hope we leave with an openness to engage in critical dialogue with each other, even when we disagree on fundamental issues.”
Professor Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News correspondent. Kendi is the 2020-2021 Frances B. Cashin Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. He is the author of many books including, “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and three No. 1 New York Times bestsellers: “How to Be an Antiracist”; “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You,” co-authored with Jason Reynolds; and “Antiracist Baby,” illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky.
Register for the events using the links below. A Microsoft Teams links will be emailed to each participant.