Generations of toddlers have fallen asleep to the familiar words and colorful images of Margaret Wise Brown’s “Goodnight Moon,” a well-loved book that has sold nearly 50 million copies.
Just in time for Juneteenth, New York Times bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi released a new children’s book on Tuesday entitled, “Goodnight Racism.” Although Kendi uses Brown’s treasured bedtime story as a template for his own, his message is radically different.
In a January statement issued to The Associated Press, Kendi explained, “‘Goodnight Racism’ is not about what is; it is about what can be. It is about the good morning of an equitable and just world after wishing racism goodnight.”
The book is being billed as a “modern bedtime classic” by its publisher, Kokila, which is an imprint of Penguin Random House. According to Kokila, “Goodnight Racism” delivers “important messages about antiracism, justice, and equality” and “empowers readers both big and small.” Additionally, this story “gives children the language to dream of a better world and is the perfect book to add to their social justice toolkit.”
An excerpt from the book, which targets children aged 3 to 7, is provided in the trailer below.
“Outside the window, the moon watches over us. Because the moon knows when we sleep, we dream. When we dream, we imagine what is possible – a world where all people are safe. No matter how they look, how they worship, or how they laugh. Goodnight injustice. Goodnight inequality. Goodnight hate. Goodnight racism.”
Let’s examine Kendi’s motives. First, “Goodnight Racism” is about indoctrinating children at a very early age with the Marxist-based ideology of Critical Race Theory, the idea that racism stands at the center of American society.
White people are the oppressors who have led lives of privilege, while people of color are the oppressed and have always operated from a point of disadvantage. Every white person is racist and must atone for it.
Kendi is selling absolution from sin to guilty white liberals.
Second, Kendi has profited tremendously from the left’s crusade against “systemic racism” which began in earnest with the launch of The New York Times’ 1619 Project in August 2019. That same month, Kendi released a book titled, “How to Be an Antiracist.” Following the May 2020 death of George Floyd, sales of the book began to soar which opened a whole new world to him.
The business of fighting racism quickly became a cash cow for the previously unknown and unremarkable college professor. According to Kendi’s biography, he left his teaching position at American University in Washington, D.C., to become the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and the Founding Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research.
That same year, Kendi was hired by CBS News as a Racial Justice Contributor and named one of “Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.”
The success of his book also boosted his income from paid speeches.
In December, The Federalist reported they’d obtained records showing the University of Wisconsin had paid Kendi nearly $45,000 for a speaking engagement three months earlier. According to the article, “Kendi raked in $40,000 gross, plus an additional $3,500 stipend for travel, flights, and meals — or about $207 per minute.”
Finally, although Kendi would have us believe he is an oppressed black man, reality appears to contradict this portrayal.
Two years ago, The Wall Street Journal published a feature on Kendi which noted his name at birth was Ibram Henry Rogers. “He and his wife adopted the surname of Kendi, meaning ‘loved one’ in Meru, when they were married in 2013. At the same time, he changed his middle name from Henry to Xolani, meaning ‘peace’ in Zulu.”
According to podcaster Thaddeus Russell, Kendi’s father was a tax accountant and hospital chaplain, and his mother, a business analyst. He adds that Kendi “attended private schools for six years and two universities where he got 3 degrees.”
Nevertheless, I have no doubt that his latest “work” will fly off the virtual bookshelves.
But, for the rest of us, who see no need to expose our toddlers and preschoolers to “a social justice tool kit” before bed and view the brief interlude before a child drifts off to sleep as a time to quiet the mind, we’ll stick with Margaret Wise Brown.
Follow AFNN:
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/afnnusa
Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/2_-GAzcXmIRjODNh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfnnUsa
GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AFNN_USA
CloutHub: @AFNN_USA
Please follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter
It’s not much, but it keeps Ibram from having to do honest work.
I do wonder, though, if the Rev. Al and the Rev. Jesse are glad to see someone is there to carry the grifting torch, or if they think he is cutting in on their action?