Racism is a blight upon the United States of America, and has been all through the country’s history. 

In Stamped from the Beginning, a documentary film featuring and based on the book of the same name by Dr. Ibram X Kendi, director Roger Ross Williams explores the history of racist ideas in the US.

Using an innovative array of methods, including VFX, animation, and music, he explores how the Trans-Atlantic slave trade gave birth to racist ideas, and how racist myths regarding black hypersexuality and criminality still impact society today.

Roger and Ibram join Matthew Sherwood to discuss their film, its themes, and the role of black women, both in terms of studying racism and as the interviewees of Stamped from the Beginning. Roger also notes the reason why he uses pop culture to tell the story of racist ideas in the US. It isn’t despite the fact that it has been used over the years to perpetuate racist ideas but because of it.

Roger admits that making the documentary was hard. Fortunately, he liked the challenge! The result is a film that, as Matthew says, is both stimulating and uplifting. Racism may be a big part of the US’s story, but it is not the last word.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“We hope that people – through the film – can begin the process of unlearning any racist ideas about black people that they have internalised...and that they would also begin to learn anti-racist ideas of racial equality.” – Ibram X Kendi