How to Be Black
{{short description|2012 book by Baratunde Thurston}}
{{Infobox book
| name = How to Be Black
| image = How to Be Black.jpg
| author = Baratunde Thurston
| country = United States
| language = English
| media_type =
| subject =
| genre =
| publisher = HarperCollins
| pub_date = January 31, 2012
| pages = 272
| isbn = 9780062003225
| dewey =
| congress =
| oclc =
}}
How to Be Black is a book written by the American comedian Baratunde Thurston. It is an autobiographical account of Thurston's life and upbringing and discusses stereotypes of African Americans, their social identities, and their relationships with their white peers.
In describing the book, Thurston said he hopes it exposes the reader to "another side of the black experience while offering practical, comedic advice based on [his] own painful lessons learned"{{cite web|title=Baratunde Thurston Explains 'How To Be Black'|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/02/01/146198412/baratunde-thurston-explains-how-to-be-black|publisher=NPR|accessdate=June 28, 2013|date=February 1, 2012}} and that "If you don't have a sense of humor this book will upset you greatly."{{cite news|last=Marques|first=Michelle|title=Baratunde Thurston's 'How To Be Black' Humorously Answers An Age Old Question|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/15/baratunde-thurston-how-to-be-black_n_2138294.html|work=Huffington Post|accessdate=June 28, 2013|date=November 15, 2013}}
The book is a New York Times Best Seller.
Television adaptation
In September 2021, it was reported that an animated television series adaptation of the book was in development at ABC. It will be produced by 20th Century Animation and ABC Signature with Thurston as writer and executive producer alongside Courtney Lilly.{{cite web|title=Animated Series 'How To Be Black' From Baratunde Thurston & Courtney Lilly In The Works At ABC|url=https://deadline.com/2021/09/animated-series-how-to-be-black-from-baratunde-thurston-courtney-lilly-in-the-works-at-abc-1234842231/|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=September 22, 2021|first=Peter|last=White}} However, in October 2022, ABC decided not to proceed into a pilot as they will not be focusing on animation.{{cite web|title=ABC Reshapes Year-Round Development With 2 Defined Cycles As Net’s Simran Sethi Talks ‘Abbott Elementary’ Effect, Hopes For ‘Alaska Daily’|url=https://deadline.com/2022/10/abc-development-pilot-season-alaska-daily-1235135025/|date=September 22, 2021|first=Peter|last=White}}
Reception
J. Victoria Sanders of the San Francisco Chronicle said the book "makes light of uncomfortable truths about America's awkward relationship to stereotypical and monolithic blackness by offering very funny advice about such topics as 'How to Be the Black Friend,' 'How to Speak for All Black People' and 'How to Be the Black Employee'" but said that Thurston was at his best when describing his troubled upbringing in which his father was murdered, forcing his mother to raise him alone as well as his experiences at Sidwell Friends School and Harvard University.{{cite news|last=Sanders|first=J. Victoria|title='How to Be Black,' by Baratunde Thurston: review|url=http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/How-to-Be-Black-by-Baratunde-Thurston-review-3340501.php|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|accessdate=June 28, 2013|date=February 19, 2013}}
See also
- Stuff White People Like, a book in a similar tone written by Christian Lander, who is featured in the book's afterword.
References
{{Reflist}}