How to Be an Antiracist

by

Ibram X. Kendi

Kendi’s Father Character Analysis

Kendi portrays his father as a wise, supportive parent, who was committed to building a more racially equitable world for his children but nevertheless made some mistakes along the way. He and Kendi’s mother met through church and became involved in Black liberation theology and the Black Power movement in the 1970s. But they grew more conservative or assimilationist in the 1980s and 1990s, which reflects broader political trends in the United States as a whole. During this later period, they took comfortable corporate jobs rather than pursue the careers they really wanted in the Christian ministry and the arts. Kendi also portrays his father as supporting gender equity and the feminist movement, even if he was not fully committed to transforming traditional gender roles: Kendi’s father stopped short of joining the Black Panthers and Nation of Islam because he saw misogyny in their ranks, and he supported his wife’s involvement in Black feminist activism. Just like his mother’s, Kendi’s father’s political thinking followed broader trends in Black America over the latter half of the 20th century and represents a dueling consciousness between antiracist and assimilationist ideas.
Get the entire How to Be an Antiracist LitChart as a printable PDF.
How to Be an Antiracist PDF

Kendi’s Father Character Timeline in How to Be an Antiracist

The timeline below shows where the character Kendi’s Father appears in How to Be an Antiracist. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Racist Introduction
Activism and Social Transformation Theme Icon
The History of Racist Ideas and Policies Theme Icon
...fact, he was surprised to get into college at all. A few weeks earlier, his father had visited the school basketball court with an envelope: it was his offer of admission... (full context)
Chapter 1: Definitions
Racism vs. Antiracism Theme Icon
Activism and Social Transformation Theme Icon
In 1970, Kendi’s mom and dad spent 24 hours on a bus to attend a conference where the band Soul Liberation... (full context)
Chapter 2: Dueling Consciousness
Racism vs. Antiracism Theme Icon
The History of Racist Ideas and Policies Theme Icon
...they called for harsher policing and decried “Black on Black crime.” Even Kendi’s mom and dad blamed racial inequity on Black people’s laziness and “ghetto culture.” In reality, Reagan’s policies accelerated... (full context)
Racism vs. Antiracism Theme Icon
The History of Racist Ideas and Policies Theme Icon
Kendi admits that his mom and dad chose “civilizer theology” over liberation theology. Despite wanting to be missionaries or poets, they took... (full context)
Chapter 3: Power
Racism vs. Antiracism Theme Icon
Activism and Social Transformation Theme Icon
...school in the suburbs when he was seven. Like many American parents, his mom and dad didn’t want him to attend his neighborhood elementary school, where the students were mainly poor... (full context)
Racism vs. Antiracism Theme Icon
Activism and Social Transformation Theme Icon
...the school hadn’t hired any, and she didn’t know why. Kendi was confused, but his dad changed the subject. Kendi ended up in a different school. (full context)
Chapter 6: Body
Racism vs. Antiracism Theme Icon
Activism and Social Transformation Theme Icon
Growing up, Kendi’s mom and dad even tried to dissuade him from playing basketball, because they thought the neighbors were too... (full context)
Chapter 7: Culture
Activism and Social Transformation Theme Icon
...offered his only hope of making any, so he broke down and cried to his father when he didn’t make the JV team. Kendi admits that he looked down on rural... (full context)
Chapter 8: Behavior
The History of Racist Ideas and Policies Theme Icon
...up, Black adults saw Kendi’s failures as failures for the whole race. His mom and dad pushed him to try harder in school, but when he struggled in International Baccalaureate (IB)... (full context)
Chapter 9: Color
Racism vs. Antiracism Theme Icon
The History of Racist Ideas and Policies Theme Icon
...and lightening their skin. It took until the Black Power movement for people (like Kendi’s father) to start taking pride in darkness. Of course, some overdid it and inverted the color... (full context)
Chapter 12: Class
Racism vs. Antiracism Theme Icon
Activism and Social Transformation Theme Icon
Intersectionality Theme Icon
The History of Racist Ideas and Policies Theme Icon
While Kendi’s mom and dad were nervous about him moving to the poor Black neighborhood, Kendi considered urban poverty the... (full context)
Chapter 14: Gender
Activism and Social Transformation Theme Icon
Intersectionality Theme Icon
The History of Racist Ideas and Policies Theme Icon
...about “broken” Black families headed by single mothers, Black community leaders tried to make Black fathers dominant in their families. In the process, they disempowered and controlled Black women—all the while... (full context)
Intersectionality Theme Icon
...rehearsal, his mother refused to repeat the vow, “wives [should] obey your husbands,” and his father proposed the more equal vow that they would “submit one to another.” His mom attended... (full context)
Chapter 18: Survival
Activism and Social Transformation Theme Icon
...and he learned that he had late-stage colon cancer. When Sadiqa, Kendi’s mom, and Kendi’s dad fought cancer, Kendi always wondered why they had to, not him. Now, he had an... (full context)