Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

Segregationists are one of the two types of racists discussed in the book. Segregationists hold that there is something fundamentally inferior and bad about Black people and that the flaws are so severe that they cannot be overcome by any amount of effort or action. Though assimilationists also attribute the inequalities and struggles of Black people to the failures of Black people themselves, they believe that the gap can be breeched through a variety of efforts. Reynolds explains that a segregationist is “a hater” (247). Across American history, segregationists uphold slavery, fight a war over the prospect of its demise, suggest sending Black people away from white people, keep Black people out of the immediate proximity of white people in segregated public spaces, and altogether deny Black humanity and excellence.

Assimilationism is the other racist ideology discussed in the book. Several historical figures either transition from assimilationism to antiracism—like William Lloyd Garrison, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Martin Luther King—or oscillate between the two like Barack Obama. Assimilationists aspire to racial equality but understand racial inequality as the result of inherent factors, rather can constructed factors. Historical figures, including influential Black leaders, expressed assimilationism in calls to action for Black communities to appeal to white society and to police their own behaviors that might intimidate or upset white people.