How to Be Black
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $22.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Baratunde Thurston
About this listen
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 PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
-
See No Stranger
- A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love
- By: Valarie Kaur
- Narrated by: Valarie Kaur
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do we love in a time of rage? How do we fix a broken world while not breaking ourselves? Valarie Kaur - renowned Sikh activist, filmmaker, and civil rights lawyer - describes revolutionary love as the call of our time, a radical, joyful practice that extends in three directions: to others, to our opponents, and to ourselves. It enjoins us to see no stranger but instead look at others and say: You are part of me I do not yet know. Starting from that place of wonder, the world begins to change.
-
-
A beautiful memoir and powerful compass
- By Eric Parrie on 06-16-20
By: Valarie Kaur
-
How to Know a Person
- The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
- By: David Brooks
- Narrated by: David Brooks
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As David Brooks observes, “There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen—to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood.” And yet we humans don’t do this well. All around us are people who feel invisible, unseen, misunderstood. In How to Know a Person, Brooks sets out to help us do better, posing questions that are essential for all of us: If you want to know a person, what kind of attention should you cast on them?
-
-
A book he was ready to write
- By Adam Shields on 11-17-23
By: David Brooks
-
The 1619 Project
- A New Origin Story
- By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine, Caitlin Roper - editor, and others
- Narrated by: Nikole Hannah-Jones, Full Cast
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning “1619 Project” issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work, weaving together 18 essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with 36 poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance.
-
-
Comprehensive and Cutting
- By Thomas Ray on 12-30-21
By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, and others
-
The Identity Trap
- A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time
- By: Yascha Mounk
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For much of history, societies have violently oppressed ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities. It is no surprise that many who passionately believe in social justice came to believe that members of marginalized groups need to take pride in their identity to resist injustice.
-
-
May It Mark A Turning Point
- By Larry on 09-28-23
By: Yascha Mounk
-
Black AF History
- The Un-Whitewashed Story of America
- By: Michael Harriot
- Narrated by: Michael Harriot
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights—after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie. In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history.
-
-
LOVE It!
- By KMB on 09-29-23
By: Michael Harriot
-
Born a Crime
- Stories from a South African Childhood
- By: Trevor Noah
- Narrated by: Trevor Noah
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this award-winning Audible Studios production, Trevor Noah tells his wild coming-of-age tale during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa. It’s a story that begins with his mother throwing him from a moving van to save him from a potentially fatal dispute with gangsters, then follows the budding comedian’s path to self-discovery through episodes both poignant and comical.
-
-
Great book and perfect narration
- By MarilynArms on 12-15-16
By: Trevor Noah
-
See No Stranger
- A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love
- By: Valarie Kaur
- Narrated by: Valarie Kaur
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do we love in a time of rage? How do we fix a broken world while not breaking ourselves? Valarie Kaur - renowned Sikh activist, filmmaker, and civil rights lawyer - describes revolutionary love as the call of our time, a radical, joyful practice that extends in three directions: to others, to our opponents, and to ourselves. It enjoins us to see no stranger but instead look at others and say: You are part of me I do not yet know. Starting from that place of wonder, the world begins to change.
-
-
A beautiful memoir and powerful compass
- By Eric Parrie on 06-16-20
By: Valarie Kaur
-
How to Know a Person
- The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
- By: David Brooks
- Narrated by: David Brooks
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As David Brooks observes, “There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen—to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood.” And yet we humans don’t do this well. All around us are people who feel invisible, unseen, misunderstood. In How to Know a Person, Brooks sets out to help us do better, posing questions that are essential for all of us: If you want to know a person, what kind of attention should you cast on them?
-
-
A book he was ready to write
- By Adam Shields on 11-17-23
By: David Brooks
-
The 1619 Project
- A New Origin Story
- By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine, Caitlin Roper - editor, and others
- Narrated by: Nikole Hannah-Jones, Full Cast
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning “1619 Project” issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work, weaving together 18 essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with 36 poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance.
-
-
Comprehensive and Cutting
- By Thomas Ray on 12-30-21
By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, and others
-
The Identity Trap
- A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time
- By: Yascha Mounk
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For much of history, societies have violently oppressed ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities. It is no surprise that many who passionately believe in social justice came to believe that members of marginalized groups need to take pride in their identity to resist injustice.
-
-
May It Mark A Turning Point
- By Larry on 09-28-23
By: Yascha Mounk
-
Black AF History
- The Un-Whitewashed Story of America
- By: Michael Harriot
- Narrated by: Michael Harriot
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights—after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie. In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history.
-
-
LOVE It!
- By KMB on 09-29-23
By: Michael Harriot
-
Born a Crime
- Stories from a South African Childhood
- By: Trevor Noah
- Narrated by: Trevor Noah
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this award-winning Audible Studios production, Trevor Noah tells his wild coming-of-age tale during the twilight of apartheid in South Africa. It’s a story that begins with his mother throwing him from a moving van to save him from a potentially fatal dispute with gangsters, then follows the budding comedian’s path to self-discovery through episodes both poignant and comical.
-
-
Great book and perfect narration
- By MarilynArms on 12-15-16
By: Trevor Noah
-
The Souls of Black Folk
- By: W. E. B. Du Bois
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line,” writes Du Bois, in one of the most prophetic works in all of American literature. First published in 1903, this collection of 15 essays dared to describe the racism that prevailed at that time in America—and to demand an end to it. Du Bois’ writing draws on his early experiences, from teaching in the hills of Tennessee, to the death of his infant son, to his historic break with the conciliatory position of Booker T. Washington.
-
-
Essays of 'life and love and strife and failure'
- By ESK on 02-08-13
By: W. E. B. Du Bois
-
The Light We Carry
- Overcoming in Uncertain Times
- By: Michelle Obama
- Narrated by: Michelle Obama
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with listeners, considering the questions many of us wrestle with: How do we build enduring and honest relationships? How can we discover strength and community inside our differences? What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt or helplessness? What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much?
-
-
Very Disappointing—Too Ego-filled
- By Patricia Webb on 11-29-22
By: Michelle Obama
-
How the Word Is Passed
- A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
- By: Clint Smith
- Narrated by: Clint Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the listener on an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not—that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation's collective history, and ourselves.
-
-
Sincerely grateful read
- By Kelvin Dixon on 06-08-21
By: Clint Smith
-
Excellent Sheep
- The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life
- By: William Deresiewicz
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Excellent Sheep takes a sharp look at the high-pressure conveyor belt that begins with parents and counselors who demand perfect grades and culminates in the skewed applications Deresiewicz saw firsthand as a member of Yale's admissions committee. As schools shift focus from the humanities to "practical" subjects like economics and computer science, students are losing the ability to think in innovative ways.
-
-
skip the book read the essay
- By Amazon Customer on 05-07-15
-
The Sum of Us
- What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
- By: Heather McGhee
- Narrated by: Heather McGhee
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis of 2008 to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a root problem: racism in our politics and policymaking. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all.
-
-
Good book but Recording tech is poor. Glitches
- By Jeannepup on 02-25-21
By: Heather McGhee
-
The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy
- And the Path to a Shared American Future
- By: Robert P. Jones
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning with contemporary efforts to reckon with the legacy of white supremacy in America, Jones returns to the fateful year when a little-known church doctrine emerged that shaped the way five centuries of European Christians would understand the “discovered” world and the people who populated it. From this vantage point, Jones illuminates how the enslavement of Africans was not America’s original sin but, rather, the continuation of acts of genocide and dispossession flowing from the first European contact with Native Americans.
-
-
The Doctrine of discovery matters to our history
- By Adam Shields on 09-13-23
By: Robert P. Jones
-
Begin Again
- James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own
- By: Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
- Narrated by: Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Begin Again is one of the great books on James Baldwin and a powerful reckoning with America’s ongoing failure to confront the lies it tells itself about race. Just as in Baldwin’s “after times,” argues Eddie S. Glaude Jr., when white Americans met the civil rights movement’s call for truth and justice with blind rage and the murders of movement leaders, so in our moment were the Obama presidency and the birth of Black Lives Matter answered with the ascendance of Trump and the violent resurgence of white nationalism.
-
-
I Understand.
- By Carrie Johnson on 07-01-20
-
Necessary Trouble
- Growing Up at Midcentury
- By: Drew Gilpin Faust
- Narrated by: Drew Gilpin Faust
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To grow up in the 1950s was to enter a world of polarized national alliances, nuclear threat, and destabilized social hierarchies. To be a privileged white girl in conservative, segregated Virginia was to be expected to adopt a willful blindness to the inequities of race and the constraints of gender. For young Drew Gilpin Faust, the acceptance of both female subordination and racial privilege proved intolerable and galvanizing. Urged to become “well adjusted" and to fill the role of a poised young lady that her upbringing imposed, she found resistance was the necessary price of survival.
-
-
My Life written by Her.
- By Jacqueline L Larner on 09-03-23
-
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
- And Other Conversations About Race
- By: Beverly Daniel Tatum
- Narrated by: Beverly Daniel Tatum
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The classic, New York Times best-selling book on the psychology of racism that shows us how to talk about race in America. Walk into any racially mixed high school and you will see Black, White, and Latino youth clustered in their own groups. Is this self-segregation a problem to address or a coping strategy? How can we get past our reluctance to discuss racial issues? This fully revised edition is essential listening for anyone seeking to understand dynamics of race and racial inequality in America.
-
-
Key Takeaway: Everything is White People's Fault
- By David Larson on 09-07-17
-
Go Set a Watchman
- A Novel
- By: Harper Lee
- Narrated by: Reese Witherspoon
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An historic literary event: the publication of a newly discovered novel, the earliest known work from Harper Lee, the beloved, best-selling author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Originally written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before To Kill a Mockingbird. Assumed to have been lost, the manuscript was discovered in late 2014.
-
-
To Kill A Mockingbird vs Go Set A Watchman
- By Sara on 07-15-15
By: Harper Lee
-
Black Joy
- By: Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts
- Narrated by: Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Tracey M. Lewis-Giggetts wrote an essay on Black joy for The Washington Post, she had no idea just how deeply it would resonate. But the outpouring of positive responses affirmed her own lived experience: that Black joy is not just a weapon of resistance, it is a tool for resilience.
-
-
An awesome read... more than once
- By Christina Dancy on 05-01-22
-
Invisible Man
- A Novel
- By: Ralph Ellison
- Narrated by: Joe Morton
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ralph Elllison's Invisible Man is a monumental novel, one that can well be called an epic of modern American Negro life. It is a strange story, in which many extraordinary things happen, some of them shocking and brutal, some of them pitiful and touching—yet always with elements of comedy and irony and burlesque that appear in unexpected places. It is a book that has a great deal to say and which is destined to have a great deal said about it.
-
-
How Did This Escape Me?
- By E. Pearson on 11-23-11
By: Ralph Ellison
Related to this topic
-
Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching
- A Young Black Man's Education
- By: Mychal Denzel Smith
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do you learn to be a Black man in America? For young Black men today, it means coming of age during the presidency of Barack Obama. It means witnessing the deaths of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Akai Gurley, and too many more. It means celebrating powerful moments of Black self-determination for LeBron James, Dave Chappelle, and Frank Ocean. In Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching, Mychal Denzel Smith chronicles his own personal and political education during these tumultuous years.
-
-
History through a Young Black Man's Eyes!! Perfect
- By Patricia Hambsch on 08-31-16
-
Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness
- What It Means to Be Black Now
- By: Touré, Michael Eric Dyson
- Narrated by: Touré
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A provocative look at what it means to be Black today. This audiobook includes excerpts from over 100 interviews with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Cornel West, Skip Gates, Melissa Harris-Perry, Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley, Glenn Ligon, Malcolm Gladwell, Paul Mooney, NY Gov. David Paterson, Harold Ford, Jr., Soledad O'Brien, Kamala Harris, Chuck D, Questlove, and others.
-
-
Food for Thought
- By Sara on 12-22-11
By: Touré, and others
-
Common Ground: Exclusive Edition
- By: Justin Trudeau
- Narrated by: Justin Trudeau, Colm Feore
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Justin Trudeau has spent his life in the public eye. From the moment he was born, the first son of an iconic prime minister and his young wife, Canadians have witnessed the highs and the lows, sharing in his successes and mourning with him during tragic times. But few beyond Justin's closest circle have heard his side of his unique journey. Now, in Common Ground, Justin Trudeau reveals how the events of his life have influenced him and formed the ideals that drive him today.
-
-
Mesmerizing
- By emilia on 05-04-18
By: Justin Trudeau
-
The Black Friend
- On Being a Better White Person
- By: Frederick Joseph
- Narrated by: Miebaka Yohannes
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Writing from the perspective of a friend, Frederick Joseph offers candid reflections on his own experiences with racism and conversations with prominent artists and activists about theirs - creating an essential listen for white people who are committed anti-racists and those newly come to the cause of racial justice.
-
-
Not really a friend and not friendly
- By emax on 06-01-21
By: Frederick Joseph
-
Tim Gunn: The Natty Professor
- A Master Class on Mentoring, Motivating and Making It Work!
- By: Tim Gunn, Ada Calhoun
- Narrated by: Tim Gunn
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tim Gunn, America's favorite reality TV cohost, is known for his kind but firm approach in providing wisdom, guidance, and support to the scores of design hopefuls on Project Runway. Having begun his fashion career as a teacher at Parsons The New School for Design, Tim knows more than a thing or two about mentorship and how to convey invaluable pearls of wisdom in an approachable, accessible manner.
-
-
Life lessons for All
- By Trendy on 03-11-16
By: Tim Gunn, and others
-
Boom!
- Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today
- By: Tom Brokaw
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 18 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Boom! One minute it was Ike and the man in the grey flannel suit, and the next minute it was time to "turn on, tune in, drop out". While Americans were walking on the moon, Americans were dying in Vietnam. Nothing was beyond question, and there were far fewer answers than before.
-
-
boring survey of a generation
- By Andy on 01-01-08
By: Tom Brokaw
-
Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching
- A Young Black Man's Education
- By: Mychal Denzel Smith
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do you learn to be a Black man in America? For young Black men today, it means coming of age during the presidency of Barack Obama. It means witnessing the deaths of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Akai Gurley, and too many more. It means celebrating powerful moments of Black self-determination for LeBron James, Dave Chappelle, and Frank Ocean. In Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching, Mychal Denzel Smith chronicles his own personal and political education during these tumultuous years.
-
-
History through a Young Black Man's Eyes!! Perfect
- By Patricia Hambsch on 08-31-16
-
Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness
- What It Means to Be Black Now
- By: Touré, Michael Eric Dyson
- Narrated by: Touré
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A provocative look at what it means to be Black today. This audiobook includes excerpts from over 100 interviews with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Cornel West, Skip Gates, Melissa Harris-Perry, Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley, Glenn Ligon, Malcolm Gladwell, Paul Mooney, NY Gov. David Paterson, Harold Ford, Jr., Soledad O'Brien, Kamala Harris, Chuck D, Questlove, and others.
-
-
Food for Thought
- By Sara on 12-22-11
By: Touré, and others
-
Common Ground: Exclusive Edition
- By: Justin Trudeau
- Narrated by: Justin Trudeau, Colm Feore
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Justin Trudeau has spent his life in the public eye. From the moment he was born, the first son of an iconic prime minister and his young wife, Canadians have witnessed the highs and the lows, sharing in his successes and mourning with him during tragic times. But few beyond Justin's closest circle have heard his side of his unique journey. Now, in Common Ground, Justin Trudeau reveals how the events of his life have influenced him and formed the ideals that drive him today.
-
-
Mesmerizing
- By emilia on 05-04-18
By: Justin Trudeau
-
The Black Friend
- On Being a Better White Person
- By: Frederick Joseph
- Narrated by: Miebaka Yohannes
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Writing from the perspective of a friend, Frederick Joseph offers candid reflections on his own experiences with racism and conversations with prominent artists and activists about theirs - creating an essential listen for white people who are committed anti-racists and those newly come to the cause of racial justice.
-
-
Not really a friend and not friendly
- By emax on 06-01-21
By: Frederick Joseph
-
Tim Gunn: The Natty Professor
- A Master Class on Mentoring, Motivating and Making It Work!
- By: Tim Gunn, Ada Calhoun
- Narrated by: Tim Gunn
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tim Gunn, America's favorite reality TV cohost, is known for his kind but firm approach in providing wisdom, guidance, and support to the scores of design hopefuls on Project Runway. Having begun his fashion career as a teacher at Parsons The New School for Design, Tim knows more than a thing or two about mentorship and how to convey invaluable pearls of wisdom in an approachable, accessible manner.
-
-
Life lessons for All
- By Trendy on 03-11-16
By: Tim Gunn, and others
-
Boom!
- Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today
- By: Tom Brokaw
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 18 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Boom! One minute it was Ike and the man in the grey flannel suit, and the next minute it was time to "turn on, tune in, drop out". While Americans were walking on the moon, Americans were dying in Vietnam. Nothing was beyond question, and there were far fewer answers than before.
-
-
boring survey of a generation
- By Andy on 01-01-08
By: Tom Brokaw
-
Created Equal
- Clarence Thomas in His Own Words
- By: Michael Pack, Mark Paoletta
- Narrated by: Charles Constant, Shamaan Casey, Pamela Klein
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born into dire poverty in the segregated South and abandoned by his father as a child, Justice Clarence Thomas triumphed over seemingly insurmountable odds to become one of the most influential justices on the Supreme Court. Yet after three decades of honorable service, few know him beyond his contentious confirmation and the surrounding media firestorm. Who is Justice Clarence Thomas, in his own words? Created Equal builds on dozens of hours of groundbreaking one-on-one interviews with Thomas to share a new, expanded account of his powerful story for the first time.
-
-
Justice Thomas, the epitome of a “Real American Man”!
- By the walton's on 06-23-22
By: Michael Pack, and others
-
Feminists Don't Wear Pink and Other Lies
- Amazing Women on What the F-Word Means to Them
- By: Scarlett Curtis - curator
- Narrated by: Rosie Akerman, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Grace Campbell, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A diverse group of celebrities, activists, and artists open up about what feminism means to them, with the goal of helping listeners come to their own personal understanding of the word.
-
-
4.5/5 Estrellas
- By Airy on 01-27-21
-
Blackballed
- The Black and White Politics of Race on America's Campuses
- By: Lawrence Ross
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Lawrence Ross, author of The Divine Nine, Blackballed is an explosive and controversial book that rips the veil off America's hidden secret: America's colleges have fostered a racist environment that makes them hostile spaces for African American students. Blackballed exposes the white fraternity and sorority system, with traditions of racist parties and songs and assaults on black students; and the universities themselves, who name campus buildings after racist men and women.
-
-
Very insightful
- By Rupe on 11-09-16
By: Lawrence Ross
-
It Was All a Dream
- A New Generation Confronts the Broken Promise to Black America
- By: Reniqua Allen
- Narrated by: Shayna Small
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Reniqua Allen tells the stories of Black millennials searching for a better future in spite of racist policies that have closed off traditional versions of success. Many watched their parents and grandparents play by the rules, only to sink deeper and deeper into debt. They witnessed their elders fight to escape cycles of oppression for more promising prospects, largely to no avail. Today, in this post-Obama era, they face a critical turning point. Interweaving her own experience, Allen shares surprising stories of hope and ingenuity.
-
-
Great statistics and facts
- By Eve on 05-18-19
By: Reniqua Allen
-
Acts of Faith
- The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation
- By: Eboo Patel
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acts of Faith is a remarkable account of growing up Muslim in America and coming to believe in religious pluralism, from one of the most prominent faith leaders in the United States. Eboo Patel's story is a hopeful and moving testament to the power and passion of young people - and of the world-changing potential of an interfaith youth movement.
-
-
Waited three years for this audiobook
- By Eva on 08-29-13
By: Eboo Patel
-
Patriarchy Blues
- Reflections on Manhood
- By: Frederick Joseph
- Narrated by: Preston Butler III, Novell Jordan
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this thought-provoking collection of essays, poems, and short reflections, Frederick Joseph contemplates these questions and more as he explores issues of masculinity and patriarchy from both a personal and cultural standpoint. From fatherhood, and “manning up” to abuse and therapy, he fearlessly and thoughtfully tackles the complex realities of men’s lives today and their significance for society, lending his insights as a Black man.
-
-
Great read!
- By BlissfullyT on 11-15-23
By: Frederick Joseph
-
Fully Alive
- Discovering What Matters Most
- By: Timothy Shriver
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At a time when we are all more rudderless than ever, we look for the very best teachers and mentors to guide us. In Fully Alive, an unusual and gripping memoir, Timothy Shriver shows how his teachers have been the world's most forgotten minority: people with intellectual disabilities. In these pages we meet the individuals who helped him come of age and find a deeper and more meaningful way to see the world.
-
-
Eye opening book
- By Robert J. Herman on 06-05-15
By: Timothy Shriver
-
Shortest Way Home
- One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future
- By: Pete Buttigieg
- Narrated by: Pete Buttigieg
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once described by The Washington Post as "the most interesting mayor you've never heard of", Pete Buttigieg, the 36-year-old Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has improbably emerged as one of the nation's most visionary politicians. First elected in 2011, Buttigieg left a successful business career to move back to his hometown, previously tagged by Newsweek as a "dying city", and transformed it into a shining model of urban reinvention.
-
-
Reveals a Person Wise & Experienced & Literate
- By dbbks3 on 03-17-19
By: Pete Buttigieg
-
The Opposite of Hate
- A Field Guide to Repairing Our Humanity
- By: Sally Kohn
- Narrated by: Sally Kohn
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a progressive commentator on Fox News and now CNN, Sally Kohn has made a career out of bridging intractable political differences, learning how to talk civilly to people whose views she disagrees with passionately. Famously "nice", she even gave a TED Talk about what she termed emotional correctness. But these days, even Kohn has found herself wanting to breathe fire at her enemies. It was time, she decided, to look into the ugliness erupting all around us.
-
-
Profoundly insightful, important, and digestible.
- By Scott on 04-24-18
By: Sally Kohn
-
Stranger [Spanish Edition]
- By: Jorge Ramos
- Narrated by: Jorge Ramos, Harold Leal
- Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jorge Ramos, periodista galardonado con premios Emmy, reconocido presentador del Noticiero Univisión y considerado "la voz de los sin voz" de la comunidad latina, fue expulsado de una rueda de prensa del candidato presidencial Donald Trump en Iowa en el año 2015 tras cuestionar sus planes sobre inmigración.
-
-
Decepcionante narración
- By Amazon Customer on 08-23-18
By: Jorge Ramos
-
The Rejected Stone
- Al Sharpton and the Path to American Leadership
- By: Al Sharpton
- Narrated by: Al Sharpton
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lord knows, Rev Al has had his personal and very public ups and downs - but he's come out bigger and better than ever. Though the host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation is as fiery and outspoken as ever about the events and issues that matter most, he's learned that the only way we can get right as a nation is by getting right from within. In this, his first book in over a decade, Rev Al will take you behind the scenes of some unexpected places - from officiating Michael Jackson's funeral, hanging out with Jay-Z and President Barack Obama at the White House, to taking charge of the Trayvon Martin case.
-
-
The Rev We Didn't Know
- By Yankee Registered Nurse on 03-21-24
By: Al Sharpton
-
Under Fire
- Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House
- By: April Ryan, Tamron Hall - foreword
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Veteran White House reporter April Ryan thought she had seen everything in her two decades as a White House correspondent. And then came the Trump administration. In Under Fire, Ryan takes us inside the confusion and chaos of the Trump White House to understand how she and other reporters adjusted to the new normal. She takes us inside the policy debates, the revolving door of personnel appointments, and what it is like when she, as a reporter asking difficult questions, finds herself in the spotlight, becoming part of the story.
-
-
- By Deborah on 09-03-18
By: April Ryan, and others
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Red Comet
- The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath
- By: Heather Clark
- Narrated by: Laura Jennings
- Length: 45 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a wealth of never-before-accessed materials, Heather Clark brings to life the brilliant Sylvia Plath, who had precocious poetic ambition and was an accomplished published writer even before she became a star at Smith College. Refusing to read Plath’s work as if her every act was a harbinger of her tragic fate, Clark considers the sociopolitical context as she thoroughly explores Plath’s world.
-
-
Amazing!
- By Blurryface on 10-28-20
By: Heather Clark
-
Black Pain
- It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting
- By: Terrie M. Williams
- Narrated by: Madeline McCray
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Terrie had made it: She had launched her own public relations company with such clients as Eddie Murphy and Johnnie Cochran. Yet she was in constant pain, waking up in terror, overeating in search of relief. For 30 years she kept on her game face of success, exhausting herself daily to satisfy her clients' needs while neglecting her own. When she finally collapsed, she had no clue what was wrong or if there was a way out.
-
A Walk Around the Block
- Stoplight Secrets, Mischievous Squirrels, Manhole Mysteries & Other Stuff You See Every Day (And Know Nothing About)
- By: Spike Carlsen
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this celebration of the seemingly mundane, Carlsen opens our eyes to the engineering marvels, human stories, and natural wonders right outside our front door. He guides us through the surprising allure of sewers, the intricacies of power plants, the extraordinary path of an everyday letter, and the genius of recycling centers — all the while revealing that this awesome world isn’t just a spectator sport. Engaging as it is endearing, A Walk Around the Block will change the way you see things in your everyday life.
-
-
Great look at the infrastructure under, above and all around us.
- By Chris on 10-24-20
By: Spike Carlsen
-
Wild Thing
- The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix
- By: Philip Norman
- Narrated by: Ako Mitchell
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over 50 years after his death, Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) is celebrated as the greatest rock guitarist of all time. But before he was setting guitars and the world aflame, James Marshall Hendrix was a shy kid in Seattle, plucking at a broken ukulele and in fear of a father who would hit him for playing left-handed. Bringing Jimi’s story to vivid life against the backdrop of mid-century rock, and with a wealth of new information, acclaimed music biographer Philip Norman delivers a captivating and definitive portrait of a musical legend.
-
-
Great historical account of Jimi!
- By Steve on 02-13-21
By: Philip Norman
-
Black AF History
- The Un-Whitewashed Story of America
- By: Michael Harriot
- Narrated by: Michael Harriot
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights—after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie. In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history.
-
-
LOVE It!
- By KMB on 09-29-23
By: Michael Harriot
-
The 1619 Project
- A New Origin Story
- By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine, Caitlin Roper - editor, and others
- Narrated by: Nikole Hannah-Jones, Full Cast
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning “1619 Project” issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work, weaving together 18 essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with 36 poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance.
-
-
Comprehensive and Cutting
- By Thomas Ray on 12-30-21
By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, and others
-
Red Comet
- The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath
- By: Heather Clark
- Narrated by: Laura Jennings
- Length: 45 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a wealth of never-before-accessed materials, Heather Clark brings to life the brilliant Sylvia Plath, who had precocious poetic ambition and was an accomplished published writer even before she became a star at Smith College. Refusing to read Plath’s work as if her every act was a harbinger of her tragic fate, Clark considers the sociopolitical context as she thoroughly explores Plath’s world.
-
-
Amazing!
- By Blurryface on 10-28-20
By: Heather Clark
-
Black Pain
- It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting
- By: Terrie M. Williams
- Narrated by: Madeline McCray
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Terrie had made it: She had launched her own public relations company with such clients as Eddie Murphy and Johnnie Cochran. Yet she was in constant pain, waking up in terror, overeating in search of relief. For 30 years she kept on her game face of success, exhausting herself daily to satisfy her clients' needs while neglecting her own. When she finally collapsed, she had no clue what was wrong or if there was a way out.
-
A Walk Around the Block
- Stoplight Secrets, Mischievous Squirrels, Manhole Mysteries & Other Stuff You See Every Day (And Know Nothing About)
- By: Spike Carlsen
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this celebration of the seemingly mundane, Carlsen opens our eyes to the engineering marvels, human stories, and natural wonders right outside our front door. He guides us through the surprising allure of sewers, the intricacies of power plants, the extraordinary path of an everyday letter, and the genius of recycling centers — all the while revealing that this awesome world isn’t just a spectator sport. Engaging as it is endearing, A Walk Around the Block will change the way you see things in your everyday life.
-
-
Great look at the infrastructure under, above and all around us.
- By Chris on 10-24-20
By: Spike Carlsen
-
Wild Thing
- The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix
- By: Philip Norman
- Narrated by: Ako Mitchell
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over 50 years after his death, Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) is celebrated as the greatest rock guitarist of all time. But before he was setting guitars and the world aflame, James Marshall Hendrix was a shy kid in Seattle, plucking at a broken ukulele and in fear of a father who would hit him for playing left-handed. Bringing Jimi’s story to vivid life against the backdrop of mid-century rock, and with a wealth of new information, acclaimed music biographer Philip Norman delivers a captivating and definitive portrait of a musical legend.
-
-
Great historical account of Jimi!
- By Steve on 02-13-21
By: Philip Norman
-
Black AF History
- The Un-Whitewashed Story of America
- By: Michael Harriot
- Narrated by: Michael Harriot
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights—after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie. In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history.
-
-
LOVE It!
- By KMB on 09-29-23
By: Michael Harriot
-
The 1619 Project
- A New Origin Story
- By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine, Caitlin Roper - editor, and others
- Narrated by: Nikole Hannah-Jones, Full Cast
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning “1619 Project” issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work, weaving together 18 essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with 36 poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance.
-
-
Comprehensive and Cutting
- By Thomas Ray on 12-30-21
By: Nikole Hannah-Jones, and others
What listeners say about How to Be Black
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Aurora
- 03-20-12
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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Davon Smith
- 02-29-20
I LOVED IT ❤️
This e a great way to end my Black History Month 😂 much funnier than expected and I appreciate it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- T.Davis
- 02-16-16
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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah C
- 09-09-15
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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steven
- 03-19-12
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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- cooki
- 05-07-12
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
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jason
- 03-05-12
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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- The Family
- 06-24-22
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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lemart
- 09-04-12
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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Terry_L
- 01-10-23
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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!