Ibram X. Kendi on the importance of being antiracist
CBSN
At the African Meeting House in Boston, the oldest Black church in the country, correspondent Nancy Giles met with Ibram X. Kendi, author of the bestselling "How to Be an Antiracist." "We're at one of the most historic spaces for Black people in North America," he said.
Built in 1806, the church was where abolitionists gathered. "They were discussing what was unheard of in the 19th century, which was a nation without slavery, the immediate emancipation of all enslaved people," said Kendi. "You had abolitionists saying to the American people, 'You can't expect to end chattel slavery by doing nothing. The more you do nothing, the more slavery spreads and harms and tortures and kills.'
"And in many ways, that's what's happening right now. If we don't actively seek to be anti-racist, then racism will persist."