Springfield College to Host Ibram X. Kendi as Part of Arts and Humanities Speaker Series
New York Times bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi and his novel How To Be an Antiracist
President Mary-Beth Cooper and the faculty and staff of Springfield College are proud to announce that New York Times bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi will be the keynote speaker at the annual Springfield College Arts & Humanities Speaker Series on March 25, 2021. The annual endowed Arts & Humanities Speaker Series is made possible through the generosity of Carlton ’63 and Lucille Sedgeley.
“We are honored to have Professor Kendi as our featured speaker for this year’s Arts & Humanities Speaker Series,” said President Cooper. “Springfield College is committed to social justice for all, and Professor Kendi has shaped and changed the conversation around actively fighting racism. His work and his presence will strengthen our actions moving forward.”
A No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. A contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News correspondent, he also is the 2020-21 Frances B. Cashin Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for the Advanced Study at Harvard University.
“The School of Arts and Sciences is thrilled to welcome Professor Kendi to our beautiful and historic campus,” said Springfield College School of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean James O’Brien. “This is a timely discussion for our campus, highlighting the Springfield College commitment to a Humanics education founded in leadership in service to others.”
In 2019, Kendi authored the No. 1 New York Times bestselling book, How to Be an Antiracist and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, a young adult remix of Stamped from the Beginning, co-authored with Jason Reynolds.
Most recently, Kendi authored the No. 1 Indie bestseller, Antiracist Baby, available as a board book and picture book for caretakers and little ones.
In 2016, Kendi authored Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and The Black Campus Movement, which won the W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize.
As the campus community prepares for Kendi’s presentation, extra copies of How to Be an Antiracist will be available to borrow in the Harold C. Smith Learning Commons, and copies of the book also will be available for purchase in the Springfield College Bookstore located in the Campus Union.
