Thread by @ibramxk

There was a time when I didn’t want to write #HowToBeAnAntiracist. There was a time when I feared revealing my shame, and challenging prevailing racial thought. There was a time when I was not sure whether I’d be able to finish #HowToBeAnAntiracist. 1/

And so, finishing the book was a gift, working with the book guru Chris Jackson to build it and tune it up just right was a gift, working with the whole crew at One World and Random House (especially Maria and Stacey and Ayelet and Cecil and Nicole) was a gift, 2/

sharing the book with the world on my birthday was a gift, seeing it debut at No. 2 on the New York Times Best Seller list was a gift, every person who read and recommended the book was a gift, 3/

every person who came to a book talk was a gift, every person who helped organize a book event was a gift, every smile and selfie and story and embrace in signing lines was a gift, 4/

every form of constructive feedback was a gift, when a National Book Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning author described the book as the “the most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind” in the New York Times it was a gift, 5/

every interview with a reporter or thought leader was a gift, every conversation about the book with every person was a gift, when a quote from the book made up a cover of the Washington Post Magazine it was a gift, 6/

when I was listed at No. 15 on the The Root 100 between LeBron and Serena it was a gift, every bookstore that put up “Be Antiracist” posters in their windows was a gift, 7/

witnessing individuals and institutions accept the challenge of #HowToBeAnAntiracist was a gift, every Best Book of 2019 list it made was a gift. 8/

As we turn to stare the struggle for 2020 in the face, I wanted to look back at 2019 and express my eternal gratitude for all these gifts, for all the gifts to come regarding #HowToBeAnAntiracist. I wanted to express my eternal gratitude to you.