Fight back against misinformation and ignorance as New York Times bestselling author Keith Boykin debunks 25 of the most common claims used to refute America’s racist past and present.

The most toxic racial arguments share one of five traits. They try to erase Black history, prioritize white victimhood, deny Black oppression, promote myths of Black inferiority, or rebrand racism as something else entirely. They’re all designed to distract society from racial justice, but now we have the tools to debunk them.

With a mixture of personal experience, reportage, and extensive research, Keith Boykin takes a wrecking ball to twenty-five of the most widespread deceptions about race, such as:

The Civil War was about states’ rights, not slavery
Affirmative action is reverse discrimination
Critical Race Theory is indoctrinating children to hate one another

and shows us how to refute lies, myths, and misinformation with history, knowledge, and truth.

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Keith Boykin is a New York Times–bestselling author, TV and film producer, and former CNN political commentator. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Keith served in the White House, cofounded the National Black Justice Coalition, cohosted the BET talk show My Two Cents, and taught at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University in New York. He’s a Lambda Literary Award–winning author and editor of seven books. He lives in Los Angeles.

"A clarifying set of arguments about Black lives past and present."
Kirkus
"Boykin's approach underscores the pervasive role race plays in America and how and why anti-Blackness and systemic racism persist…Readers seeking books in Black Studies, civil rights, and issues of discrimination will find this one thought-provoking and crucial to understanding and dismantling the anti-Black consciousness that endures in American society."
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Keith Boykin

About the Author

Keith Boykin is one of America’s leading commentators on race and sexual orientation. He has appeared on CNN, Fox News, and NPR, and been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today, among many other publications. Boykin is currently a contestant in the Showtime reality show American Candidate, which airs nationally in Fall 2004. A graduate of Harvard Law School, the author served as special assistant to President Clinton on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues.

Today Boykin is president of the National Black Justice Coalition, an organization established in 2003 to marshal African-American support for same-sex marriage rights. He is the author of One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America and Respecting the Soul: Daily Reflections for Black Lesbians and Gays. He lives in New York City.

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Open Book Interview: Keith Boykin

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Why Does Everything Have to Be About Race?

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