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crankylibrarian
Apr 08, 2013crankylibrarian rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Baratunde Thurston is a pretty funny guy, although the best jokes in this memoir/stand-up routine are in the introduction. Part autobiography, part humorous manifesto, _How To Be Black_ chronicles Thurston's inner city childhood, private school education and successful career at Harvard and in corporate America, using his experiences to illustrate the perils of being "The Black Friend", "The Black Employee" (his chapter on corporate diversity programs is especially apt), "The Black Spokesperson" and, inevitably "The Angry Negro". Accompanied by essays both humorous and thoughtful by a panel of "professional black people" (plus a token Canadian), Thurston's trip down the memory lane of marginalization will evoke a chorus of "Mmm hmms" from anyone who's ever dreaded being served watermelon at the company picnic.