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Capehart

Ibram X. Kendi explains why racist policies — not people — are the problem

Capehart

The Washington Post

News Commentary, Politics, News

4.61.4K Ratings

🗓️ 10 August 2021

⏱️ 34 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The author of "How to be Antiracist" discusses the effect of bad policies and how we can move forward from them.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I'm Jonathan Capehart and this is Cape Up.

0:10.6

In a previous episode, you may recall former New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrue invoking

0:15.1

the name of Dr. Ibra McSkendee in talking about the good and evil in our nation's fraught

0:20.4

racial dynamic.

0:21.4

The argument is that one doesn't triumph over the other, the two coexist, and right now,

0:28.0

the evil of white supremacy is on the march.

0:31.3

Well in this episode, I drill down on this with Dr. Kendi, director of Boston University's

0:36.8

Center for Anti-Racist Research and author of How to Be Anti-Racist.

0:41.9

And I get Dr. Kendi to explain his contention that racist policies are the issue of not

0:46.8

racist people.

0:47.8

When a person is supporting a racist policy, they're being racist when they're expressing

0:53.8

a racist idea, they're being racist.

0:56.9

And that doesn't mean they are essentially racist.

0:59.5

Dr. Kendi walks us through this logic and fully explains why, as he says, the problem

1:04.7

isn't bad people.

1:06.3

The problem is bad policies, listen to it all, right now.

1:20.4

Dr. Kendi, welcome to the podcast.

1:22.4

Oh, it's always great Jonathan to be on.

1:24.7

So the last time you were here, you were on with your co-editor of 400 souls, a community

1:30.6

history of African America, 1619 to 2019, but I've asked you here solo today because your

1:39.1

name was invoked in my interview with former New Orleans mayor, Mitch Landrew.

1:45.3

And I thought, you know what, he's a good opportunity to have Dr. Kendi on.

...

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