Stamped from the Beginning

January 1, 2023

Here is a graphic-format version of MacArthur fellow Kendi's groundbreaking best seller, Stamped from the Beginning, with art furnished by Gill, chair of the MFA in Visual Narrative at Boston University and creator of the award-winning graphic novel series Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 26, 2023
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.

July 7, 2023

Kendi's anti-racism 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 anti-racist ideas and people who spoke for or against them. The evolution of these ideas is seen through the viewpoints 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 grayscale illustrations that place emphasis on the subject. For every 20 panels or so of serious commentary, there are scenes of levity such as historical figures with heart-shaped eyes because someone agreed with their point of view, or a page presenting assimilationists as wannabe superheroes. Gill also blends historical quotes and statements from the original edition with modern colloquialisms. The latter makes the book more accessible. 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.--Anjelica Rufus-Barnes

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2023

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.