On Monday evening, July 20, 2020, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi spoke online about how to be an antiracist, the title of his bestselling book. He is a professor of history and international relations, as well as the founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center, at American University, a private research university in DC. The event was organized and sponsored by the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System in Maryland. Dr. Charlene Dukes, the President of Prince George’s Community College, served as the moderator. 

Tom Peters, Dean of Library Services at Missouri State University, intended to attend the online event, but system problems at their end and scheduling conflicts at his end prevented him from doing so. As a registrant, he did have an opportunity to view the recording. 

Dr. Kendi said that racial and ethnic groups are neither better nor worse than any other group. They’re all just different. Regarding formal educational systems, Dr. Kendi said an antiracist would focus on standardizing resources across school districts, rather than on standardizing the curriculum. He noted that college entrance exams, such as the ACT, tend to favor college-bound students from wealthy families. Denial of racism in our country is a crucial factor for understanding why this nation has ongoing systemic racism. Dr. Kendi noted that often people who hold racist ideas or who endorse racist systems have very vague ideas concerning racism, and often they do not realize that their views may be perceived as racist. Recent polls, however, now indicate that three out of four Americans now see racism as a very important national problem. He encouraged everyone to get into “good trouble” by combating racism and unjust laws. Every individual has the power to challenge and to resist racism. 

The Prince George’s County Library System partnered with many organizations on this event, especially Joe’s Movement Emporium, the Prince George’s Community College’s Center for Performing Arts, the Prince George’s County Human Relations Commission, the PGCMLS Foundation, the Maryland State Library, and the Wells Fargo Foundation.

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s talk was supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Maryland State Library.