Scan barcode
A review by mschlat
How to Be Black by Baratunde R. Thurston
3.0
This book has three types of chapters that interweave:
1) chapters on Thurston's life (growing up in DC, going to Sidwell Friends School and Harvard) that focus on his expansive definitions of blackness and how they change with his experiences,
2) chapters where Thurston consults with "The Black Panel" --- friends, bloggers, artists, writers, and comedians --- who comment on some of the same definitions of blackness from different perspectives, and
3) chapters where Thurston writes very cutting and funny non-fiction pieces on the expected roles of Blacks in the US ("How to be the Black Friend", "How to be the Black Employee", etc...) that focus on restrictive definitions of blackness.
I really liked the first and second types of chapters, but --- as much as I appreciated the truth bombs --- I wasn't a big fan of the third type. I can see how discussing the more stereotypical ideas of black life heavily informs the other peices of writing, but I was much more engaging in learning from Thurston's life (and the lives of his friends).
1) chapters on Thurston's life (growing up in DC, going to Sidwell Friends School and Harvard) that focus on his expansive definitions of blackness and how they change with his experiences,
2) chapters where Thurston consults with "The Black Panel" --- friends, bloggers, artists, writers, and comedians --- who comment on some of the same definitions of blackness from different perspectives, and
3) chapters where Thurston writes very cutting and funny non-fiction pieces on the expected roles of Blacks in the US ("How to be the Black Friend", "How to be the Black Employee", etc...) that focus on restrictive definitions of blackness.
I really liked the first and second types of chapters, but --- as much as I appreciated the truth bombs --- I wasn't a big fan of the third type. I can see how discussing the more stereotypical ideas of black life heavily informs the other peices of writing, but I was much more engaging in learning from Thurston's life (and the lives of his friends).