--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stamped from the Beginning presents this…" description: "\"“Stamped from the Beginning presents this new history. It does not use terms like overt and covert, or explicit and implicit to describe the historical..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/ibram-x-kendi-3080_history_stamped-from-the-beginning-presents-this_1042224.jpg" --- # Stamped from the Beginning presents this new history. It… ![“Stamped from the Beginning presents this new history. It does not use terms like overt and covert, or explicit and implicit to describe the historical evolution of race. It does not present a postracial story that ends with the election of Obama. It does not present a story of racial progress…” quote by Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/ibram-x-kendi-3080_history_stamped-from-the-beginning-presents-this_1042224.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/ibram-x-kendi-3080_history_stamped-from-the-beginning-presents-this_1042224.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8b/ibram-x-kendi-3080_history_stamped-from-the-beginning-presents-this_1042224.jpg) > ““Stamped from the Beginning presents this new history. It does not use terms like overt and covert, or explicit and implicit to describe the historical evolution of race. It does not present a postracial story that ends with the election of Obama. It does not present a story of racial progress, showing how far we have come, and the long way we have to go. It does not even present a story of racial progress of two steps forward—as embodied in Obama—and one step back—as embodied in Trump.”” [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The book rejects simplistic narratives of racial progress, emphasizing ongoing systemic challenges. **In simple terms:** History of race is complex, not a simple forward march. Key Takeaway Acknowledge ongoing racial struggles. Themes race history systemic inequality politics Mood critical thought‑provoking Type analytical activist When to use this quote - education - policy reform - media analysis - public discourse - activism Key Concepts critical race theory social justice Questions to Reflect On - How does this view change your perception of progress? - What actions can address the setbacks described? A Different Perspective It may overlook individual successes within broader trends. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [“the soon-to-be first president sounded one of the first drumbeats of supposed racial progress to drown out the passionate arguments of antiracism.10 Thomas”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/the-soon-to-be-first-president-sounded-one-of-the-first-drumbeats-of/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“If Barack Obama came to embody America’s history of racial progress, then Donald Trump should come to embody America’s history of racist progress. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/if-barack-obama-came-to-embody-america-s-history-of-racial-progress/) [Ibram X. 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All eyes are fixed on people like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-clock-has-been-turned-back-on-racial-progress-in-america-though/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Prisoners do matter when analyzing the severity of racial inequality in the U.S. Yet because they are out of sight and out of mind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/prisoners-do-matter-when-analyzing-the-severity-of-racial-inequality/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Here's the thing. When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, it's all nonsense. There are no race relations. White people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/here-s-the-thing-when-we-talk-about-race-relations-in-america-or/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [“A little bit of kindness goes a long way with women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/a-little-bit-of-kindness-goes-a-long-way-with-women/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## More by Ibram X. 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Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Hate and ignorance have not driven the history of racist ideas in America. Racist policies have driven the history of racist ideas in America.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/hate-and-ignorance-have-not-driven-the-history-of-racist-ideas-in/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“From the beginning, it has been a three-sided battle, a battle of antiracist ideas being pitted against two kinds of racist ideas at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/from-the-beginning-it-has-been-a-three-sided-battle-a-battle-of/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“newspaper reports of rape constructed white defendants as individual offenders and black defendants as representative of the failings of their racial group,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/newspaper-reports-of-rape-constructed-white-defendants-as-individual/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Racist intentions—not policies—became covert after the 1960s.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/racist-intentions-not-policies-became-covert-after-the-1960s/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Donald Trump’s economic policies are geared toward enriching White male power—but at the expense of most of his White male followers, along with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/donald-trump-s-economic-policies-are-geared-toward-enriching-white/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“individualizing White negativity and generalizing Black negativity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/individualizing-white-negativity-and-generalizing-black-negativity/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Racially discriminatory policies have usually sprung from economic, political, and cultural self-interests, self-interests that are constantly changing. Politicians seeking higher office have primarily created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/racially-discriminatory-policies-have-usually-sprung-from-economic/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“The vicious housing cycle had already begun. Racist policies harmed Black neighborhoods, generating racist ideas that caused people not to want to live next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/the-vicious-housing-cycle-had-already-begun-racist-policies-harmed/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“For Jefferson, power came before freedom. 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Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) > [“Our education has filled us with strong prejudices against them,” Hopkins professed, “and led us to consider them, not as our brethren, or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibram-x-kendi/our-education-has-filled-us-with-strong-prejudices-against-them/) [Ibram X. Kendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) [Explore all 140 Ibram X. Kendi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibram-x-kendi/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' 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