Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, author of the #1 New York Times best-selling book, “How to be an Antiracist” and Time magazine’s “Most 100 Influential People of 2020” will be the guest speaker on Nov. 4 at Northwest Vista College in a virtual webinar for the San Antonio community from 11 am to 12 pm.
The event is to illuminate what Dr. Kendi defines as a “racist pandemic” that has its grip on the United States and will last far beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the unjust killing of George Floyd and countless other Black Americans, communities across the U.S. have had to face renewed wave of systemic racism and its consequences. Like many cities, San Antonio has declared racism a public health hazard and this past summer, the Alamo Colleges, in which Northwest Vista College is a part of, made a public pledge to combat racism. Northwest Vista College has created an NVC Black Lives Matter Association made up of staff and faculty to bring tangible change to fight systemic racism at the college.
Kendi, a professor at Boston University (BU), is the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. His book, “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and his book, “The Black Campus Movement,” won the W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize.
In addition to being an author, Kendi is also a contributor for CBS News and “The Atlantic” and has commented on the death of Breonna Taylor and hate crimes. He finished his recent book while fighting and overcoming stage four colon cancer. Recently he told PBS News Hour that the nation also has metastatic cancer when it comes to racism. He said the process he went through to flush out cancer in his body is representative of what America also needs to do to change and eradicate policies that allow systemic racism to exist. For more information on Kendi, visit www.prhspeakers.com.
Kimberly McClurg, chair of NVC’s Humanities and Government department, who has been working for a year to bring Kendi to NVC, said she’s honored that students and the community get to see him as his teachings and books have been a part of classroom discussions for years.
“It is my hope that students, faculty, and the community-at-large, will engage in conversations that acknowledge racism, then act to tear down societal structures that legitimize cultural groups and people of color as anything other than true equals.”
The webinar will feature Kendi speaking for about 45 minutes about his book “How to Be an Antiracist” and then a 15-minute Q&A will follow.
Please register for the event at this link:
https://alamo.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZJyw7GIQQKyk5A4ijCv9Ow
To obtain Dr. Kendi’s book “How To Be An Antiracist,” click on this link:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2183490/ibram-x-kendi/