The antiracist activist and author spoke on several current issues at the University糖心传媒檚 annual MLK Address
The only way to beat racism is to admit we糖心传媒檝e been racist in the past, Ibram X. Kendi told a virtual audience of nearly 3,000 Wednesday night as the 糖心传媒 celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address.
糖心传媒淭he very heartbeat of racism is denial,糖心传媒� the best-selling author, antiracist activist, and Boston University professor said in an hour-long Zoom event. 糖心传媒淲hen people say they糖心传媒檙e not racist, they糖心传媒檙e sharing the words that white supremacists use. Jim Crow segregationists said they weren糖心传媒檛 racist. Lynchers argued they weren糖心传媒檛 racist; the problem was the people they lynched. Slave owners said the same thing.
糖心传媒淏ut to be antiracist is to say 糖心传媒榯hat chokehold was racist and that policy that has impoverished that community was racist. When I supported it, I was being racist, but I糖心传媒檓 going to change it and be different.糖心传媒澨切拇綑
Kendi spoke with moderator Kristin Doughty, associate professor of anthropology, director of the University糖心传媒檚 , and interim director of the
Before the event, Kendi engaged in an online Q&A with University student leaders.
Kendi, named one of , is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and the Founding Director of the聽. He won the 2016 National Book Award for nonfiction for聽Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.聽His recent book,聽How to Be an Antiracist,聽was a聽New York Times聽bestseller this year and was described by the聽Times聽as 糖心传媒渢he most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.糖心传媒�
Kendi糖心传媒檚 work has appeared in the聽New York Times, Washington Post, Time,听补苍诲听Salon, and he is a guest commentator on CNN, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, NPR, and the BBC.
Kendi addresses police violence, COVID-19
Kendi discussed two incidents involving Rochester police that made national news糖心传媒攁 9-year-old girl who was handcuffed and pepper sprayed following a domestic disturbance, and the case of Daniel Prude, who died after being physically restrained by officers while he was experiencing a mental health crisis.
The Prude situation hit home to Kendi. 糖心传媒淚 don糖心传媒檛 know if I糖心传媒檝e ever said this publicly, but that was devastating to me on multiple levels,糖心传媒� he said. 糖心传媒淢y brother suffers from a mental disability. That could have been my brother. The fact that those officers were (not charged) because they were following procedure says everything that糖心传媒檚 wrong with those officers and procedure.糖心传媒�
Kendi also was distraught after watching video of the 9-year-old girl being pepper sprayed in the back seat of a police car. 糖心传媒淥ne of the most horrific racist ideas, especially for parents of Black children, is to know that Black children are treated like adults and Black adults are treated like children. You know that police officers and society in general are not going to look at your 9-year-old and see a child.糖心传媒�
Kendi said that when many activists talk about 糖心传媒渁bolishing the police,糖心传媒� they are actually talking about abolishing violence. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 important to realize that the most dangerous racist idea is the idea of the dangerous Black neighbor,糖心传媒� he said. 糖心传媒淎cross this country, there are all-Black neighborhoods with low levels of violent crime, just like there are all-neighborhoods with high levels. The distinction? Neighborhoods with low levels of violence have low levels of poverty and unemployment. All Black people need糖心传媒攁ll anyone needs糖心传媒攁re resources and opportunities.糖心传媒�
People of color in the United States have suffered a disproportionate number of deaths due to the coronavirus. In a perfect world, Kendi said, there would be racial demographic data to pinpoint the 糖心传媒渉otspots of racial disparity糖心传媒� in order to respond in real time.
糖心传媒淭hat data from the beginning would have been critical,糖心传媒� he said. 糖心传媒淏lack people are dying at the highest rate, not because of pre-existing conditions, but because they can糖心传媒檛 work from home. Essential workers, people working in the service industry, can糖心传媒檛 do that. And Black people die at higher rates because they don糖心传媒檛 have access to health insurance, and there are folks living in the highest levels of air and water pollution.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淎s we sit on the other side of 500,000 people dead from coronavirus when are we as a people going to take our lives seriously? The people who look like us and don糖心传媒檛 look like us?糖心传媒�
The MLK address was instituted by the University in 2001 to promote issues of diversity, freedom, civil rights, and social justice in order to commemorate King糖心传媒檚 legacy. The event is hosted by the聽Office of the Minority Student Affairs聽and the聽Office of the President and cosponsored by the Office of Equity and Inclusion and the Office of Alumni Relations and Constituent Engagement.
Past speakers聽include Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, Michael Eric Dyson, Maria Hinojosa, and Symone Sanders, chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris.
