How to Be Black

Baratunde Thurston

• Publisher: Harper
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN:
  9780062098047
• Print ISBN:
  9780062003225
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies

The comedian chronicles his coming of age while analyzing politics & culture in this New York Times–bestselling memoir and satirical guide.
If You Don't Buy This Book, You're a Racist.
Have you ever been called "too black" or "not black enough?"
Have you ever befriended or worked with a black person?
Have you ever heard of black people?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, this book is for you.
Raised by a pro-black, Pan-Afrikan single mother during the crack years of 1980s Washington, DC, and educated at Sidwell Friends School and Harvard University, Baratunde Thurston has over thirty years' experience being black. Now, through stories of his politically inspired Nigerian name, the heroics of his hippie mother, the murder of his drug-abusing father, and other revelatory black details, he shares with readers of all colors his wisdom and expertise in how to be black.
Beyond memoir, this guidebook offers practical advice on everything from "How to Be The Black Friend" to "How to Be The (Next) Black President" to "How to Celebrate Black History Month."
To provide additional perspective, Baratunde assembled an award-winning Black Panel—three black women, three black men, and one white man (Christian Lander of Stuff White People Like)—and asked them such revealing questions as "When Did You First Realize You Were Black?" and "How Black Are You?" as well as "Can You Swim?"
The result is a humorous, intelligent, and audacious guide that challenges and satirizes the so-called experts, purists, and racists who purport to speak for all black people. With honest storytelling and biting wit, Baratunde plots a path not just to blackness, but one open to anyone interested in simply "how to be."
Praise for How to Be Black
"Part autobiography, part stand-up routine, part contemporary political analysis, and astute all over. . . . Reading this book made me both laugh and weep with poignant recognition. . . . A hysterical, irreverent exploration of one of America's most painful and enduring issues." —Melissa Harris-Perry
"Struggling to figure out how to be black in the 21st century? Baratunde Thurston has the perfect guide for you." — The Root

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction: Thanks for Celebrating Black History Month by Acquiring This Book
• Where Did You Get That Name?
• When Did You First Realize You Were Black?
• Mama Thurston
• How Black Are You?
• Do You Know What an Oreo Is?
• Wealth-Related Horse Violence
• Why Are You Wearing That White Man Over Your Heart?
• The U.S. Propaganda Machine: A Middle School Paper
• The White Student Union
• How to Be The Black Friend
• How to Speak for All Black People
• Have You Ever Wanted to Not Be Black?
• Can You Swim?
• Going Black to Africa
• But I Don’t Want to Kill People
• Being Black at Harvard
• How to Be The Black Employee
• How to Be The Angry Negro
• How to Be The (Next) Black President
• How’s That Post-Racial Thing Working Out for Ya?
• The Future of Blackness
• Afterword: Race Work and Art—The Black Panel Speaks
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Credits
• Copyright
• About the Publisher
• Footnotes