Many Americans cling to the idea that we are living in a postracial society, signaled by the election of our first black president, when in fact, racist thought is alive and well—more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And, as historian Ibram X. Kendi argues in in his National Book Award-winning analysis, if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society. Yet while prejudices are easily produced and easily consumed, they can also be discredited, and Kendi offers us the tools we need to expose them—and in the process, gives us reason to hope.