Stamped from the Beginning: A Graphic History of Racist Ideas in America

Gill (Fights) imbues this graphic novel adaptation with emotional gravity that bolsters National Book Award winner Kendi's incisive analysis. Per Kendi, America's history of racial discrimination is a "three-sided battle" between segregationists, assimilationists, and anti-racists. With a distinct cartoony style, Gill portrays the cyclical nature of this showdown through the oeuvres and activism of renowned figures like Angela Davis, W.E.B. Du Bois, William Lloyd Garrison, and Cotton Mather. The text unpacks racism's complex evolution alongside attempts at racial progress, from Puritanical perceptions of white superiority and Black enslavement to cultural advancement rhetoric ("uplift suasion" and "media suasion") starting from abolitionists who still enforced racist assimilationist ideas to Du Bois's dual support of the Talented Tenth and the Harlem Renaissance and ending in modern-day "blackfishing" and postracialism. Racist speech drips from blackened dialogue bubbles, while sly anachronisms--bewitched white children in Salem shout, "Wu-Tang is fo' the children!" and Star Wars-inspired "force ghosts" of famous thinkers cheer from the sidelines--the punchy art adds levity that propels the painful but vivid narrative. It's necessary reading. Agents: (for Kendi) Ayesha Pande, Ayesha Pande Literary; (for Gill) Anjali Singh, Ayesha Pande Literary. (June)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 9 Up--Kendi's antiracism opus receives a pointedly visual adaptation from Gill (Fights: One Boy's Triumph Over Violence). Since the beginning of America, there have been racist, assimilationist, and antiracist ideas, and people who spoke for or against them. The evolution of these ideas is seen through the lens of five historical figures: Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. DuBois, and Angela Davis. As guides, the five demonstrate how the country takes a step forward with emancipation and civil rights, but several steps back with Jim Crow laws and the War on Drugs. Gill uses gray scale and cartoonish illustrations that place emphasis on the subject, lively gestures, and facial expressions. For every 20 panels or so of serious commentary, there are scenes of historical figures with heart-shaped eyes because someone agreed with them, or a page presenting assimilationists as wannabe superheroes. Gill also blends historical quotes and statements from the original edition with modern colloquialisms. The latter brings a lightness to the subject, making the book accessible outside of academia. Notably, Gill encases racists and assimilationist comments in black speech bubbles that drip like sticky ooze. VERDICT A welcome, educational addition to social justice collections.--Maryjean Riou

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"An impressive and disturbing weaving of the United States' horrifically racist roots, the institutional and interpersonal racism still pervasive in American society today, and the ways in which antiracist movements can inspire hope and change."—Screen Rant

"Translating a dense historical analysis into a graphic narrative is a strange challenge, but it's one that Gill rises to with aplomb . . . People are complicated, as Stamped illustrates, and while no one individual necessarily 'got it right, ' it also makes clear that something being 'of its time' has never been a good excuse."—Boing Boing

"An amazingly drawn, deeply researched explanation of racial injustice in the United States."—Book Riot

"This is an unvarnished, unapologetic, unflinching, and appropriately snarky tale of the mess we are in."—W. Kamau Bell, Emmy award-winning executive producer, New York Times bestselling author, and comedian

"An essential new approach to understanding centuries of systemic power dynamics throughout our society, from our shared history to possible futures."—Nate Powell, award-winning cartoonist of the March trilogy and Save It for Later

"A book that educates and entertains in a way that makes it an indispensable teaching tool, while simultaneously establishing Gill is a master of this medium."—David F. Walker, author of The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History

"This essential adaptation gives the visual learner something to hold onto while being flown through centuries of history and the ideas that helped shape them . . ."—Thi Bui, author of The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir

"Educational and entertaining . . . This graphic novel takes full advantage of the medium by offering visuals that clarify and complicate an antiracist view of history."—Maurice Carlos Ruffin, author of We Cast a Shadow

"Engaging, educational, and wryly funny . . . Joel Christian Gill's illustrations make the past feel more concrete and give readers of all ages a new way to connect to the material."—Mikki Kendall, author of Hood Feminism and Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists

"Buckle up. Joel Christian Gill and Ibram X. Kendi are absolutely unapologetic. Together, they deliver the facts and will transform everything you thought you already knew about race and racism."—Safiya Umoja Noble, MacArthur Fellow and author of Algorithms of Oppression

"[A] powerful visual artifact that will move readers and inspire change for generations to come."—John Jennings, co-author of My Superhero Is Black and Eisner Award-winning illustrator of Octavia Butler's Kindred

"A must for lovers of graphic non-fiction and American History."—Johnnie Christmas, #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novelist, author of Swim Team, and co-creator of Angel Catbird

"Shedding light on where we've come from and how we might grow beyond it, Dr. Kendi's work asks us to imagine a wholeness we've only caught glimpses of, and to reach for it with smarter policies and braver hearts."—Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk