Summary
In the opening pages, Ibram Kendi and Jason Reynolds clarify that Stamped is not a history book, but rather a “present book” meant to take the reader on a journey through the emergence of racism to better understand the modern world. The authors present three key terms: segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists. Segregationists are loosely defined in the book as “haters,” or people that aim to keep Black and white citizens separate. Assimilationists are described as individuals that want racial integration, but not the full dismantling of oppressive systems. Finally, antiracists actively work to end racial inequalities.
The first chapter recounts the story of the “World’s First Racist.” In 1415, Prince Henry convinced his father, King John of Portugal, to capture the main Muslim trading depot in Morocco in order to acquire the region’s riches and resources. Although Prince Henry and King John were capturing people out of a desire for wealth and power, the Portuguese chronicler Gomes Eanes de Zurara used storytelling to depict their actions in a heroic and esteemed manner. In The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea, Zurara explained that the Portuguese enslaved people in order to help civilize and Christianize African “savages.” Zurara’s book became a hit across Europe, and this idea would later arrive in America.
Following the publication of Zurara’s book, other European writers and scholars developed theories to justify the enslavement of Africans. Many drew on the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who originated the “climate theory” of races, which claimed that the heat of the African continent made its citizens darker, and, in turn, inferior. In 1577, George Best theorized that Africans were the descendants of the Biblical character Ham and thus cursed by God. A century later, John Cotton and Richard Mather justified slavery as a building block of the colonial economy in New England. Both Cotton and Mather were Puritan ministers, and they founded Harvard University in order to convey their teachings to a broad audience. As devout followers of Aristotle, Cotton and Mather justified slavery and embedded their racist teachings into the religious and educational systems of the colonies.
John Pory was one of the first lawmakers in the Virginia colony in the 1600s. Pory set the price of tobacco, and thereby helped to create the nation’s first cash crop. However, Pory needed to create a workforce for this agrarian economy. In August 1619, a Spanish ship carrying Angolan slaves was hijacked by pirates and brought to Jamestown, Virginia. Slaves were used to work the tobacco fields, and they also were perfect subjects for conversion by American missionaries.
After Zurara, many European philosophers and scholars began to write harmful narratives about Africans. While Italian philosopher Lucilio Vanini wrote that Africans had their own creation story and thus were not human. Vanini’s theory came to be known as polygenesis, and it prompted a new wave of Christian conversion in an attempt to civilize African “savages.” The authors note that, at this time, there were waves of antiracist action. For example, the Germantown Petition Against Slavery, signed in 1688, denounced oppression on the basis of skin color.
Due to growing tensions between white settlers and Native Americans, a governor named William Blake aimed to disrupt a brewing alliance between Black and white citizens of the servant socioeconomic class. Blake created white privileges so that poor white citizens could 1) be pardoned for any rebellious act, and 2) abuse Africans with impunity. During the time of Blake’s rule, Cotton Mather, a descendent of both John Cotton and Richard Mather, was an eleven-year-old student at Harvard. Cotton Mather, who suffered from a speech impediment, wrote numerous sermons during his time as a student. After he overcame his stutter, Cotton Mather became a preacher.
At the time that Cotton Mather was achieving notoriety, there was a revolution brewing in New England with the poor underclass rebelling against their wealthy overlords. Cotton Mather, a wealthy intellectual from an elite family, was worried that the 1688 revolution would cause him to be “dethroned.” As a result of this looming threat, Cotton Mather started a witch hunt in order to distract from this threat. In all written accounts of witches and dark magic, the devil was portrayed as black. Thus, by association, Black people were depicted as criminals and villains. People began to feel threatened by the growing Black population, and new laws were passed. These racist codes banned interracial relationships and prevented Black citizens from holding office. Additionally, white indentured servants who were freed were awarded fifty acres of land, while Black slaves were condemned to working and were classified in the same category as livestock.
Analysis
In the book’s opening paragraph, Reynolds and Kendi draw a clear distinction between segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists. They use approachable language to describe the defining characteristics of each group. The manner in which the authors set out these definitions defines the book’s tone of agreeability. They make clear that they want to write a history book that is “not a history book,” and to paint a chronology of the United States in a manner that highlights its relevance today. Although these terms may initially be difficult for a young reader to fully understand, the authors' simple breakdown makes these key terms easily definable and recognizable throughout the narrative.
The authors' investigation into the legacy of Gomes Eanes de Zurara introduces the theme of influential storytelling. Stories connect people, places, and ideas, and they possess the power to reach wide audiences and affect modern thought. Kendi and Reynolds's definition of Gomes Eanes de Zurara, a storyteller, as the “World’s First Racist” is an important point in the book. Although it was the Portuguese king who actually enslaved Africans, Zurara used language that depicted African people as savage and worthy of conquest. Ultimately, Zurara’s story reached much farther than the actions of King John of Portugal.
Zurara’s chronicle was widely distributed throughout Europe, and his ideas provided justification for the European colonization of Africa. He inspired other contemporary writers and philosophers to further contribute to this narrative. In the 17th century, enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke and Benjamin Franklin, who are heralded for their contributions to modern intellectual thought, contributed to literature that drew inspiration from Zurara’s narrative. In addition, Francis Galton, a founding leader in eugenics, was inspired by Zurara’s narrative and its attempts at racial classification. Later on, these ideas would be brought to the newly-formed United States and serve as foundational tenets for a new nation.
In Section I, Stamped shows how racist ideas have been woven into the fabric of American educational and religious institutions. John Cotton and Richard Mather, two Puritan ministers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, were so adamant about promoting their own religious agenda that they violently oppressed all dissenters. Namely, they created an American social hierarchy that valued white Puritan life over Native and African existence. Cotton and Mather gained wealth and notoriety in the United States, and they later went on to found Harvard University. This story demonstrates the connections between institutionalized religion, education, and racism.
Cotton Mather, the mutual descendent of John Cotton and Richard Mather, continued the legacy begun by his forefathers. However, Cotton Mather’s story is particularly significant because it demonstrates how he oppressed others when he felt that his own power was endangered. During Cotton Mather’s career, many Americans in rural, poorer parts of the nation began to resent the wealthy and metropolitan elite. As a way of distracting from this intra-racial tension, Cotton Mather villainized Black people. This behavior would become a repeated pattern throughout American history: Black people became the scapegoats for national problems.
