How to Be Black

By: Baratunde Thurston

Narrated by: Baratunde Thurston

Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Narration by the Author or Authors, 2013

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?

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 30 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 listeners 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, author of Stuff White People Like) - and asked them such revealing questions as: "When did you first realize you were Black?" "How Black are you?" "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".

©2012 Baratunde Thurston (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

A Comic View of Life, Culture, and Difference

You can't read this book and not learn something. Baratunde Thurston informs his non-Black reader that Black people are not all alike. Thurston also advises his Black reader how to best portray some of the country's best (worst) Black stereotypes, and then helps his ____ (fill in blank with the appropriate race/ethnicity) how to distinguish them.

Thurston's book is a mixture of autobiography, cultural observation and criticism, and comedy. While the title may scare off both racists and people who don't know that the book is supposed to be funny, the book is for everyone with a sense of humor who isn't afraid of the discussion of race from the distinctive perspectives of his Black panel and the one White Canadian guest on that panel. I emphasize that this is Thurston's experience and the description of "blackness" from the perspective of the individuals that make up his panel because what I believe we are supposed to get from this book, all of us, is that our ethnicity/skin color/ race does not determine who we are as individuals. This is a book for Black people who may be afraid to admit they are different and may doubt their blackness, as much as it is for the militant who is concerned that s/he needs to write a book too, and for the ____ (fill in blank with the appropriate race/ethnicity) people who love/like have interest in them all anyway. But, mainly, it's just for ordinary people or all persuasions who enjoy listening to funny stories about what Black people think of each other and what the White-majority world (specifically the US) in which they live thinks of them. Thurston also helps those who may not have ever been exposed to the different "kinds" of Black people understand that he is not the first to observe and write about the diversity among people of the same racial/ethnic group; he lists authors, titles, and terminology used within some groups to indicate such differences, including the book written by the only White panelist as a definitive guide to Whiteness.

This book is educating, entertaining, interesting, and funny. I laughed out loud for hours! Literally! If you can't laugh at yourself, this book is definitely not for you, and, well... you just might be a racist.

I LOVED IT ❤️

This e a great way to end my Black History Month 😂 much funnier than expected and I appreciate it.

Black Card Renewed

This is an amazing book that is wonderfully narratated by the author and his friends. BT'S upbringing is a road map for mother's of beautiful black boys. Thank you for sharing your story.

A must listen!

I'm sure this is great as a text book, but the author is an accomplished speaker/actor, and it's add depth to the message to hear it in his voice.

Not your typical diversity book

What made the experience of listening to How to Be Black the most enjoyable?

Awesome book. Whatever you probably think this book is, it is probably not.

What about Baratunde Thurston’s performance did you like?

Baratunde is hilarious! I probably enjoyed the audio more than I would have enjoyed reading the words. The audiobook also contains recorded interviews.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened in just several sessions. It is a very easy listen.

thought-provoking: mind-enriching

What made the experience of listening to How to Be Black the most enjoyable?

The quality of play back is excellent

What does Baratunde Thurston bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I have it both ways: on my ereader & audible

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Empathy

Funny book about serious issues

Would you listen to How to Be Black again? Why?

Baratunde does a great job covering serious topics in a way that's funny, yet informative and in a way that gets you thinking about things from an angle you may not have found on your own. Great social commentary.

Funny. Real. Black

This book was funny, insightful, & showed that blackness is limitless, powerful & beautiful. I think everyone, and do mean everyone, should read this book. It is like a jumping off point to start to explore. Explore the history of blackness, blackness in America, blackness globally, and begin to open your mind. Accept the good with the bad but hold on to the good like your life depends on it. Self-love.

Very Good Read

If you could sum up How to Be Black in three words, what would they be?

It says all of those things you wanted to say but didn't quite know how to articulate it.

You must listen to this book at least twice

You must listen to the book! It is a satirical, witty and hilarious book on his life lesson on being black. It’s relatable, laugh out loud funny and sometime bittersweet and cringey. I’m on my second listen.