Racist circus
In the following metaphor, Kendi likens the slave trade to a "racist circus," touching on the idea that African people were considered "uncivilized" by the colonizers:
"As trained exotic creatures in the racist circus, Black people could showcase Black capacity for Whiteness, for human equality, for something other than slavery."
Melting pot metaphor
Kendi describes an assimilationist, saying that he, "like other assimilationists, saw the United States as a melting pot in which all the cultural colors became absorbed together." Here, Kendi uses the metaphor of a melting pot to show how damaging the assimilationist view is. Although they might celebrate multiculturalism and diversity, they are not acknowledging the disadvantages black people face due to years of institutionalized racism.
Dam and floodgates
Kendi uses the metaphor of a dam and floodgates to show how the Civil Rights Act did not stop racism:
"As so, as much as the Civil Rights Act served to erect a dam against Jim Crow policies, it also opened the floodgates for new racist ideas to pour in, including the most racist idea to date: it was an idea that ignored the White head start, presumed that discrimination had been eliminated, presumed that equal opportunity had taken over, and figured that since Blacks were still losing the race, the racial disparities and their continued losses must be their fault."
This metaphor suggests that although the Civil Rights Act acted as a sort of dam against the racist laws of Jim Crow Segregation, it was based on assimilationist principles, and therefore was not the end of racism. Instead, Kendi argues that because people assumed the Civil Rights Act guaranteed legal equality, there was no extra support put in place to help black people overcome the socio-economic damage caused by the Jim Crow laws.
