This month for Banned Books Book Club we are reading Stamped: Racism, Anitracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds. Stamped was the number two banned/challenged book of 2020. Stamped was banned and challenged because of author's public statements, and because of claims that the book contains "selective storytelling incidents" and does not encompass racism against all people (Learn more at Banned Books Week and American Library Association).
The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. Racist ideas are woven into the fabric of this country, and the first step to building an antiracist America is acknowledging America's racist past and present. This book takes you on that journey, showing how racist ideas started and were spread, and how they can be discredited.