A Decision (Largely) Stamped From the Beginning: Kendi/Reynolds Collaboration Eclipses Chernobyl-era Friendship Tale

Sometimes a book comes along that perfectly and deftly articulates the current zeitgeist, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi does just that. 

Scratch that, on second thought.

The book isn’t merely a reflection of our current age that will fade with the next era; it harbours key insights and lessons that we need to internalize and practice well into the foreseeable future, to bring about real and lasting racial healing and justice. To embrace the simple rejection of racism, after centuries of complex and devastating justifications and policies. The blending of Xendi’s “courageous” writing with Reynold’s easy, accessible, and relatable style proves to be a powerful and unmistakable winner. Whether you read the text, or listen to the sonorous tones of Reynolds’ narration, this is a book that you HAVE to read. It’s too relevant, too well-crafted, and too urgent to ignore.

This is not to say that Stamped’s round 1 rival, Anne Blankman’s The Blackbird Girls, was a dud, automatically relegated to the losing side. Quite the contrary. It packs quite the wallop itself, combining the tragic events of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster with the secrecy and rigidity of the Soviet socio-political system, and at its true heart a bond of friendship, transcending an initial mistrust and hatred, culture, religion, family dynamics, and geography. The triple-narrator format adds to the complexity and thoroughness of perspective that will render the reader unable to put the book down, or turn the audio off. Well-paced, well-researched, and inspired by true stories and experiences of the survivors of the tragedy, The Blackbird Girls would be a fine addition to classroom library shelves, even for the upper elementary grades.  

As engrossing and well-crafted as this historical fiction book is, it simply does not match the urgency of Stamped. Every chapter seems to include yet another little-known and devastating racism-inflicted wallop that has plagued human history over the past 500-plus years. Our group’s Covid-appropriate Google Meet started off as a quick 10-minute check-in, but easily turned into a 45-minute conversation on the state of racism not only in the US (the focus of the Xendi/Reynolds book), but the racial struggles we face in Canada. Perhaps an equally poignant and accessible book is needed to ameliorate our own country’s shameful treatment of Indigenous people and people of colour.

In the final analysis, Stamped wins by a vote of 4 to 1. Although, we wouldn't be surprised if The Blackbird Girls finds its way to the final round via a well-deserved resurrection!