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How To Get The ‘Antiracist Baby’ Book That Ted Cruz Hates, Plus More Like It

Ted Cruz inadvertently boosted sales for "Antiracist Baby" after slamming it during Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing. Here's where to buy it and other great children's books on racism and activism.
By 

Shopping Writer at HuffPost

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Antiracist Baby is written by Ibram X. Kendi and illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky.

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If you’ve been following the historic confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, then you saw Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday bring up the topic of children’s books about anti-racism taught or available in the library at Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C., where Jackson serves on the board. 

One of the books he called out, presenting an enlarged photo of its cover, was “Antiracist Baby” by Ibram X. Kendi, a professor and director of Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research. The colorful board book, beautifully illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky, is aimed at empowering parents and their kids to uproot racism and encourages difficult, yet necessary, conversations on anti-racism. It lays out nine easy, kid-friendly steps to take that help intentionally create a more equitable world for everyone, including “opening your eyes to all skin colors” and “using your words to talk about race.” 

Get the book for $6.99 on Amazon. 

And if you’re really committed to creating change, here are 10 more books you can buy to help talk to your children about racism and activism:

1
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"A Is For Activist"
J is for justice! X is for Malcolm X! This super-simple ABC board book is a perfect first step for families who want to start talking to their kids about activism and civil rights from a really early age.
Get it at Bookshop for $10.99.
2
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"Let The Children March"
This beautiful book (a Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner for illustration) tells the story of the 1960s Birmingham Children’s Crusade, when kids marched to protest Jim Crow laws.
Get it at Bookshop for $16.55.
3
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"Separate Is Never Equal"
This inspiring book tells the story of Sylvia Mendez, a child with Mexican and Puerto Rican roots, who along with her family, helped end school segregation in California.
Get it at Bookshop for $18.39.
4
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"Sulwe"
Academy-Award winning actor Lupita Nyong’o wrote this book about Sulwe, a girl with skin the color of midnight. It helps children grapple with colorism and question what society teaches them about beauty and value.
Get it at Bookshop for $16.55.
5
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“Malala’s Magic Pencil”
Malala Yousafzai’s first picture book tells the activist’s own story, inspiring young readers to push for change without waiting for permission.
Get it at Bookshop for $16.55.
6
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"Kid Activists”
From Martin Luther King, Jr. to Dolores Huerta, this book tells the stories of some of history’s great activists during their childhoods and helps teach kids that anyone can help stand up for justice.
Get it at Bookshop for $12.87.
7
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“Last Stop On Market Street”
There’s a reason why this beautiful slice-of-life story has won so many accolades: Using a simple bus ride to drive the plot, it encourages kids (and parents) to both celebrate and talk openly about the diversity they see in the world around them.
Get it at Bookshop for $17.47.
8
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“Each Kindness”
This lovely book teaches children to value kindness and empathy.
Get it at Bookshop for $16.55.
9
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"The Hate U Give"
This heartbreaking bestseller for teenagers tells the story of a 16-year-old girl whose unarmed best friend is shot and killed by a white police officer. It’s unflinching and necessary.
Get it at Bookshop for $17.47.
10
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“Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness”
This book helps white families teach their children about racism, privilege and white supremacy so that kids understand what it means to be actively anti-racist.
Get it at Bookshop for $17.43.

Before You Go

10 Books By Black Authors That You Need To Read Right Now
A powerful memoir of essays about enduring societies’ expectations of being a Black man(01 of10)
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A finalist for the NAACP Image Award, Damon Young's "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker" is compilation of essays that portray what it's like to a Black man in America, written with honesty and touches of humor. Derrick said this book is a very human take on tearing down stereotypes that usually follow Black men, such as hyper masculinity and militancy. (credit:Bookshop.org)
A journalistic endeavor that explores the origins of slavery and the ways it still permeates the present(02 of10)
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"This was one book that shook me to my core," Ramunda said of "The 1619 Project," created by Nikole Hannah-Jones. This catalogue of essays, poems and pieces of fiction show how the racist sentiments that informed slavery reach contemporary American society in every facet, from health care to politics to capitalism.

"It translates so many things that are happening to us as a community. [It's] filled with essays that really shed light on so many mistruths that people think are real and contains backed information that shares how people see us and how we see ourselves," Ramunda said.

You can also donate this book to be distributed to schools and community organizations across the country. (credit:Bookshop.org)
A beautiful memoir depicting the love of a father and the journeys of his sons in a turbulent time(03 of10)
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"The Beautiful Struggle" by Ta-Nehisi Coates was another book that Derrick said depicts Black men as complex individuals that defy the preconceived notions society places on them. "Coates' book talks about just being a guy living in an environment where people force on you this mask of 'you must be tough or you must be this.' I think this book helped me have comfort and contentment in myself," he said. Guided by the force of a father's love in a world not kind to Black men, "The Beautiful Struggle" tells of two sons on divergent paths navigating youth and adulthood in America. (credit:Bookshop.org)
A guide to intentional minimalism that celebrates the importance of Black heritage(04 of10)
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You may have heard of Marie Kondo and her affinity for tidy spaces, but "The Afrominimalist's Guide To Living With Less" explores the concept of minimalism free from the white mainstream. "The way that the author, Christine Platt, approaches [minimalism] comes from a very conscious Black perspective about what it means to hold value to things while also tying in a lot of the cultural ideologies about why we consume," Ramunda said. (credit:Bookshop.org)
A thought-provoking manifesto that dismantles mistruths about the Black Panther Party(05 of10)
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This searing autobiography by the co-founder of the Black Panther Party tells of Huey P. Newton's impoverished upbringing, his struggles with the system and ultimate activism. It's a book that Derrick said helped shaped his life. "This book works to dismantle all of the misinformation that's put out about the Black Panther Party," he said. (credit:Bookshop.org)
An autobiographical work that ignites activism, written by a woman of Black Liberation Army(06 of10)
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Assata Shakur was briefly a member of the Black Panther Party, then became a leader of the Black Liberation Army. She was convicted on flimsy evidence in 1977 of being an accomplice to murder. Her autobiography tells of her experiences and her eventual journey to activism in one of the most pinnacle points in Civil Rights history.

"The power and strength of Assata Shakur sticks with me from a very deep place. It was one of the first books that I had read about a Black woman standing up for what she believed even when she was exiled from the [United States]," Ramunda said. (credit:Bookshop.org)
A critical book in understanding Black womanhood and a feminist movement fraught with racism(07 of10)
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When asked to name some of his favorite Black authors, Griffith mentioned the works of the late bell hooks and one of her most groundbreaking books, "Ain't I A Woman," which deserves a place on every intersectional feminist's bookshelf. Hooks' writing examines every moving piece of the Black woman experience from women in slavery to racism within feminism and the ways in which society devalues Black womanhood. (credit:Bookshop.org)
A distinctive reflection on A Tribe Called Quest and the cultural significance of Black music(08 of10)
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Recommended by Griffith, "Go Ahead In The Rain" by Hanif Abdurraquib is, at the outset, one fan's love letter to the popular hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest. But it also tells of what the group really represented in the larger picture of Black culture and the people who listened to them. (credit:Bookshop.org)
A classic work of Baldwin’s that speaks of an unjust system and a love that finds a way(09 of10)
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This iconic story by James Baldwin is fiction, but it divulges a very real truth about the ways in which the American justice system has historically used Black people as scapegoats, leading to wrongful convictions and disrupted lives. "If Beale Street Could Talk" uses richly evocative characters to tell a story of a young couple in love, and, when one is incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit, the consequent effects that it has on their families. (credit:Bookshop.org)
An essential book in helping to build a genuine multiracial democracy(10 of10)
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Written in 1993, "Race Matters" by Cornel West is a book of essays that provides compassionate and current insights into the race-related problems that affect Americans today. West covers topics from leadership in the Black community to unchecked police brutality and the legacy of Malcom X. (credit:Bookshop.org)
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