Stamped from the Beginning
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A decent nonfiction book will give you some information to start building context. A good one will show the full picture. A great one like Stamped from the Beginning will go beyond pure facts, pairing the incentives, actions, and direct quotes of a time to help a modern reader better connect the threads underpinning 200 years of history. As Ibram X. Kendi takes us from Europeans first discoveries of the African nations to modern day America, he does a great job juxtaposing the actions and statements of leaders throughout US history to show who walked the walk and who only paid lip service to the ideals they pretended to support.
Kendi structures the book around 5 prominent Americans - Puritan minister Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, W. E. B. Du Bois, and legendary activist Angela Davis - each of whom helped shape the thinking of their time. Kendi pairs each generation’s economic incentives with the racial narratives of the time to make a compelling argument that racism is more profit-driven than anything else. As Frederick Douglass is quoted in the book, “When men oppress their fellow-men, the oppressor ever finds, in the character of the oppressed, a full justification for his oppression.” Kendi dives deep to support this thesis. He shows time and time again that economic incentives pushed people in power to create racist/discriminatory policies, and the disparate effects of those policies caused people to form racial biases/racist beliefs. Each claim is fully cited for anyone who wants to dig deeper into a particular topic but Kendi does an excellent job keeping the focus on the overarching trends. Each point is well supported and fully integrated into the context of history.
I found myself reading Stamped from the Beginning with highlighter in hand. I wish I’d read this in history class, or economics, or government. The class doesn’t really matter - I just wish I’d read this in high school. It’s the best explanation I’ve seen for how we got to now. The example that stuck with me the most was how racial wealth gaps now can be neatly linked back to redlining in the 30s, and how the end of slavery was quickly met with ‘anti-loitering’ laws designed to get freedmen arrested and into the prison system as quickly as possible. (Slavery is still legal in US prisons.) If you like nonfiction, history, politics, sociology, or (of course) racial justice you should buy this book. I highlighted large chunks of it on my first pass, and I plan to annotate it on my second pass in lieu of the class discussions I wish I could have. It feels wrong to pair this book with something alcoholic but I also wanted to avoid something too sweet. I ended up going with a non-alcoholic Negroni for the perfect slightly bitter slow-sipping drink.
Non-Alcoholic Negroni (From Lyre’s)
1 oz Dry London Spirit
1 oz Italian Orange
1 oz Aperitif Rosso
This one is super easy - pour all ingredients into a lowball with ice, stir to mix and enjoy!
