Book Review: How To Be Black

I bought Baratunde Thurston's "How To Be Black" for my brother as a Chanukah present, from one super white person to another. The book, however, took a slight detour because while I was sitting in the airport on the way to meet my dear Bubba I read the back of the book and decided to read it myself. I read the whole thing cover to cover on the flight from NYC to Colorado and then gifted it to my brother, none the wiser.

Thurston uses humor to make the awkward topic of race the center of conversation. Not only does he share stories of growing up with a hippy mother and absent father in the midst of DC's crack era, he asks a well rounded panel of black and white men and women (plus one white guy for diversity's sake) deep reaching questions relating to their blackness. Finally, Thurston takes the role of teacher so that we can all learn how to be great black employees or even the second black president.

Maybe this book will get ya talking about race relations or other important things. Even if it doesn't, you'll enjoy it because it's plain funny.

Four out of five stars.