 Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi ISBN: 978-0316453691 Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Copyright Date: 2020 Reading Age: 12 and up Reading Level: Grades 7 and up Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Best Nonfiction, Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Genre: Young Adult Nonfiction Subgenres: History, Biography, Antiracism Plot Summary Racism is a tightly woven thread in the American tapestry. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You explores how racism in this country began, discussing the history from racism to abolitionists to today. The effects of slavery and the racism that allowed it can still be seen in laws on the books, how neighborhoods are populated, even how history is taught in the classroom. Through compelling stories and a conversational tone, the reader is taken from the history of racist ideas to modern day and is given tools to confront racism and create positive change. Critical Evaluation Racism is a tightly woven thread in the American tapestry. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You explores how racism in this country began, discussing the history from racism to abolitionists to today. The effects of slavery and the racism that allowed it can still be seen in laws on the books, how neighborhoods are populated, even how history is taught in the classroom. Through compelling stories and a conversational tone, the reader is taken from the history of racist ideas to modern day and is given tools to confront racism and create positive change. Racism in this country began even before the United States existed. Stamped discusses the history of racism in the US and how to do something about it today. With writing that is easy to access and information about history that may not be covered in school, Stamped is an interesting discussion of slavery began in what would later be the United States and how that racism continues to this day. It also explores how individuals can be empowered to make a difference and incorporate antiracism into their lives, giving teens a way to put what they have learned into practice. Reader’s Annotation Racism in this country began even before the United States existed. Stamped discusses the history of racism in the US and how to do something about it today.  About the Authors Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books for young people, including Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, All American Boys, Long Way Down, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, and the upcoming Stuntboy, in the Meantime. The recipient of a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors, Reynolds is also the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. He lives in Washington, DC. He is an American author who writes novels and poetry for young adult and middle-grade audiences, including Ghost, a National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature. Born in Washington, DC and raised in neighboring Oxon Hill, Maryland, Reynolds found inspiration in rap to begin writing poetry at nine years old. He focused on poetry for approximately the next two decades, only reading a novel cover to cover for the first time at age 17 and publishing several poetry collections before he published his own first novel, When I Was The Greatest, in 2014. He won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent for this first work of prose and seven more novels followed in the next four years, including Ghost (2016) and two more books in what became his New York Times best-selling Track series, Patina (2017) and Sunny (2018); As Brave As You (2016), winner of the 2016 Kirkus Prize, the 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth/Teen, and the 2017 Schneider Family Book Award; and a Marvel Comics novel called Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2017). (About the author and photo from here.)  IBRAM X. KENDI is one of America’s foremost historians and leading antiracist scholars. He is a National Book Award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author of eight books. Dr. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and the Founding Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. He is also the 2020-2021 Frances B. Cashin Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for the Advanced Study at Harvard University. Dr. Kendi is a contributor writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News Racial Justice Contributor. He is the host Be Antiracist with Ibram X. Kendi, a new podcast he’s launching on June 9th with Pushkin Industries and iHeartMedia. In 2020, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the Genius Grant. Dr. Kendi is the author of The Black Campus Movement, which won the W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize, and Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2016. At 34 years old, Dr. Kendi was the youngest ever winner of the NBA for Nonfiction. He grew up dreaming about playing in the NBA (National Basketball Association), and ironically he ended up joining the other NBA. Dr. Kendi also has produced five #1 New York Times bestsellers. How to Be an Antiracist, an international bestseller that has been translated in several languages. It made several Best Books of 2019 lists and was described in the New York Times as “the most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.” Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds, is a young adult remix of Stamped from the Beginning. Stamped Jr.--as we call it--won the GoodReads Choice Award and was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Book of the Year, Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, the Kirkus Prize, and a NAACP Image Award. Antiracist Baby, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky, was published as a board book and picture book. Most recently, Dr. Kendi edited with Dr. Keisha N. Blain, Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019. And, Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul adapted Stamped Jr. into Stamped for Kids, a book for middle graders that Kirkus found to be "exhilarating, excellent, necessary." (About the author and photo from here.) Booktalking Ideas
Discuss the similarities and differences between this book, the adult version, and the juvenile version. The authors say this is not a history book but one about the present. Explore that concept in a booktalk. Challenge issues: violence, strong language Challenge Issue Resources: Nevada County Library Selection Policy Selection of materials is based upon a number of criteria that include:
The Library selects materials in accordance with the guidelines stated by the American Library Association in its Library Bill of Rights, and Freedom to Read Statement and Freedom to View Statements. The Library supports diversity of expression and views in its collection in an attempt to provide patrons with a foundation for making informed decisions and formulating personal opinions. The Library does not exclude items because of the race, nationality, social, political, or religious views of the authors. The presence of controversial materials in the collection does not represent the Library’s endorsement of the opinions expressed therein. Although some materials selected may contain language and/or illustrations that may be offensive to some patrons, the Library cannot undertake the task of pleasing all individuals by censoring such items. Active Listening Skills Staff should listen calmly to the patron’s concerns without judgement or commentary. They should acknowledge the public’s right to challenge materials and help the patron find an alternative item that will fit their needs. Nevada County Library Reconsideration form Any citizen may challenge materials. If the citizen chooses to submit a written Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials, Library staff will collect reviews and accumulate data on how the material conforms to the selection policy. An ad hoc review committee consisting of the Library Director, Branch Manager, one other librarian, and a citizen appointed at the discretion of the Library Director will review the material, judge whether it conforms to the Selection Policy and submit its report in writing to the Nevada County Board of Supervisors. Concerned parties will be notified of the final decision in writing. ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services. Why Included With writing that is easy to access and information about history that may not be covered in school, Stamped is an interesting discussion of slavery began in what would later be the United States and how that racism continues to this day. It also explores how individuals can be empowered to make a difference and incorporate antiracism into their lives, giving teens a way to put what they have learned into practice. |