How to Be an Antiracist

During Kendi’s time at Temple University, the African American studies space in the university was a safe “Black space” (166) for him. In 1987, Temple professor Molefi Kete Asante founded the nation’s first African American studies program. Asante ran the program with Professor Ama Mazama. Kendi deeply admired Mazama and asked her to become his dissertation advisor. Mazama taught Kendi there is no such thing as objectivity, which made Kendi reevaluate his approach to journalism. When he asked what he should do without objectivity to guide his work, she advised him to “[t]ell the truth” (167).

At Temple, many of Kendi’s classmates were also graduates of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), which made him very self-conscious about the ways these educational spaces for Black students are commonly disparaged. According to Jason Riley at the Wall Street Journal, HBCUs are falling behind “decent state schools like the University of Texas at Austin, never mind a Stanford or Yale” (171). Kendi maintains this is an unfair comparison as HBCUs do not have the same endowments as historically White schools. When HBCUs are compared to White schools with the same means and makeup, there are actually higher graduation rates for Black students.

Black-centered spaces have been contested throughout history.