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Ibram X. Kendi writing children’s story ‘Goodnight Racism’

‘It is about what can be’
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This cover image released by Penguin Young Readers shows “Goodnight Racism” by Ibram X. Kendi. (Penguin Young Readers via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — The next book in Ibram X. Kendi’s prolific and award-winning publishing career is a picture story with a hopeful message.

Penguin Young Readers announced Wednesday that in Kendi’s “Goodnight Racism,” the author seeks to connect with children’s capacity to imagine a better world. The book is illustrated by Cbabi Bayoc and is scheduled to come out June 14.

“’Goodnight Racism’ is not about what is; it is about what can be,” Kendi said in a statement. “It is about the good morning of an equitable and just world after wishing racism goodnight.”

Kendi won the National Book Award in 2016 for “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.” He has since published three books, including “How to Be An Antiracist” and a collaboration with Jason Reynolds, “STAMPED: Racism, Antiracism, and You.” He also helped edit “Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619–2019.” He is founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research.

By The Associated Press