Alex Nester and Santucci Ruiz:

Asra Nomani, vice president of Parents Defending Education, the watchdog group that obtained the emails through a public records request, called Amazon’s prioritization of “antiracism” efforts during a pandemic “shortsighted” in a statement to the Washington Free Beacon.

“Instead of donating Kindles and hot spots to students in Arlington Public Schools, Amazon chose to spread the controversial ideology of critical race theory,” Nomani said. “The shortsighted decisions during a pandemic, with so many students vulnerable, reflect the national crisis of school districts circumventing parents to indoctrinate students—in this case, with the help of corporate America.”

Purchasing Kendi’s book was one of Amazon’s many Black History Month initiatives. The company also promoted work by black authors and created an “Amplify Black Voices” channel on Prime Video. Amazon came under fire for removing a top-rated documentary about Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas during Black History Month. The film was number one on Amazon’s documentary list before it was pulled, and Amazon has refused to explain the move.

Stamped is billed as a young adult “remix” of Kendi’s Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. Kendi, who also wrote the commercially successful How to Be An Antiracist, has become a lightning rod in the national debate over critical race theory.