Kendi’s Mother Character Analysis in How to Be an Antiracist

A participant in the Second Great Migration, Kendi’s mother moved from Georgia to New York in her childhood. Kendi’s mother (like his father) came of age during the Black Power movement but followed social trends toward assimilationism in the 1980s and 1990s. Accordingly, she and Kendi’s father raised their children with a mix of racist and antiracist ideas. For instance, they celebrated Black activists and political leaders throughout history, while worrying about Kendi damaging his chances in life by following “ghetto culture”—like by playing basketball. Kendi’s mother was also a dedicated feminist in her youth: she participated in Black feminist discussion groups and insisting that the officiant change the sexist statement “wives [should] obey your husbands” in her wedding vows. Kendi’s parents demonstrate Black America’s dueling consciousness as it reckoned with the problem of racism throughout the second half of the 20th century. Growing up, Kendi understood the need to resolve racial inequities and believed in the fundamental equality of all racial groups, but he still thought the most straightforward path to equity would be through cultural assimilation, not policy change.

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

The timeline below shows where the character Kendi’s Mother appears in How to Be an Antiracist. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

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... (full context)

The History of Racist Ideas and Policies Theme Icon

Kendi demonstrates how his definitions can help us analyze racial inequities. His grandparents brought his mother from Georgia to New York in the 1950s because Georgia’s climate was getting hotter, which... (full context)

...the 1980s: 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... (full context)

Kendi admits that his mom and dad chose “civilizer theology” over liberation theology. Despite wanting to be missionaries or poets,... (full context)

...an elementary 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... (full context)

...in the church, Kendi was surprised when the principal addressed him with genuine empathy. Kendi’s mother later told him to be careful when protesting. But it worked: the principal persuaded Kendi’s... (full context)

Growing up, Kendi’s mom and dad even tried to dissuade him from playing basketball, because they thought the neighbors... (full context)

Growing 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... (full context)

While Kendi’s mom and dad were nervous about him moving to the poor Black neighborhood, Kendi considered urban... (full context)

In the 1960s, worried about “broken” Black families headed by single mothers, Black community leaders tried to make Black fathers dominant in their families. In the process,... (full context)

Still, Kendi’s parents were feminists. At their wedding rehearsal, his mother refused to repeat the vow, “wives [should] obey your husbands,” and his father proposed the... (full context)

...She and Kendi were devastated. Sadiqa spent a year in treatment but recovered. However, Kendi’s mom got diagnosed with a less severe form of breast cancer shortly after. (full context)

The whole time Sadiqa and Kendi’s mom were fighting cancer, Kendi was working on Stamped from the Beginning, which meant sifting through... (full context)

...to keep working, 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,... (full context)