Four Hundred Souls
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  • Published: 4 February 2021
  • ISBN: 9781473592476
  • Imprint: Vintage Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 528

Four Hundred Souls

A Community History of African America 1619-2019

Formats & editions
EBook
4 Feb 2021
Audiobook
4 Feb 2021
Paperback
15 Jun 2022
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An epoch-defining history of African America co-curated by bestselling author of How To Be an Antiracist

*THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*

Four Hundred Souls is an epoch-defining history of African America, the first to appear in a generation, told by ninety leading Black voices -- co-curated by Ibram X. Kendi, author of the million-copy bestseller How To Be an Antiracist, and Keisha N. Blain, author of Set the World on Fire.

In chronological chapters, each by a different author and spanning five years, the book charts the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans to the present - a journey defined by inhuman oppression, visionary struggles and stunning achievements.

Contributors include some of today's leading writers, historians, journalists, lawyers, poets and activists. Together - through essays and short stories, personal vignettes and fiery polemics - they redefine America and the way its history can be told.

'A vital addition to the curriculum on race in America... Compelling' Washington Post
'A resounding history...that challenges the myths of America's past... Fresh and engaging' Colin Grant, Guardian
  • Published: 4 February 2021
  • ISBN: 9781473592476
  • Imprint: Vintage Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 528
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About the author

Ibram X. Kendi

Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is the author of many books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and three #1 New York Times bestsellers, How to Be an Antiracist, which was also a Sunday Times bestseller; Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds; and Antiracist Baby, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky. In 2020, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

portrait photo of Ibram X. Kendi

Also by Ibram X. Kendi

Antiracist Baby
Be Antiracist
How To Be an Antiracist
The (Young) Antiracist's Workbook
How to Be a (Young) Antiracist
Goodnight Racism
How To Raise an Antiracist
See all

Praise for Four Hundred Souls

An impressive and illuminating collection that rejects Blackness in America as a singular experience and instead illustrates the range of Black experiences and voices

Time, 21 Most Anticipated Books of 2021

A polyphonic work that unites writers, historians, lawyers, poets and activists ... From Morgan Parker's poem Before Revolution to writer Bernice L McFadden's soaring exploration of Zora Neale Hurston's genre-defining writing, it's something quite incredible

Stylist

Highly readable and far more compelling than a mere historical digest would have been ... This collection teaches us that nothing about the latest crisis is new ... a vital addition to that curriculum on race in America and should serve as a gateway to the solo works of all the voices in Kendi and Blain's impressive choir

Washington Post

A provocative, stirring anthology . . . Four Hundred Souls weaves a tapestry of unspeakable suffering and unexpected transcendence

O: The Oprah Magazine, 20 of the Best Books of February 2021 to Fall in Love With