Black AF History

This was definitely one of my most anticipated releases of this year. Michael Harriot is a force on Twitter and every single tweet thread of his is superbly educational and I’ve probably learnt more American history by following him than reading books. So ofcourse I was gonna checkout his book. And then I got the audiobook copy because how can I resist when he narrates it himself.

However much horrifying the subject matter in this book is, it’s also absolutely hilarious and I guess it would be too hard to read the gruesome history narrated in this book without some levity. While some of the book is about Black historical figures we know, the author gives us more context about their struggles and accomplishments and doesn’t forget to tell us how their complex lives are simplified and whitewashed in the mainstream. On the other hand, we also get to know about many forgotten Black heroes and the many atrocities they suffered and fought against. The author manages to intersperse this narrative with tidbits about Southern as well as African American cuisine, with lots of family anecdotes.

The author is blunt, to the point, no holds barred and funny while narrating this history of America that has been willfully ignored for the benefit of white supremacy. Every chapter is eye opening, and in the author’s words, this book as a whole is the true history of America - a country whose foundations are built on centuries of exploitation and racism. And if you want to know more of these unbridled truths, do checkout this book. Even if you don’t like reading history books, you won’t be able to put this down. And definitely checkout the audiobook for a much richer experience.

Please read this book before it's banned. I consider myself knowledgeable about structural racism and American history (I read [b:The 1619 Project 49814857 The 1619 Project Nikole Hannah-Jones https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1590129414l/49814857.SX50.jpg 95241725] the week it was published in The Times after all). But I was infuriated and horrified by how much new information I learned from Black AF History. Journalist and podcaster Harriot covers more than five centuries of American white supremacy in less than 400 pages, peppering the book with justifiable anger and gallows humor. The latter includes snarky textbook-like quizzes, rants from his crazy “Uncle Rob,” and several surreal conversations with a “racist baby” about reparations and the myth of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. Just for funsies he throws in lighter fare about Southern food vs. soul food, and how to tell if your house of worship is truly a Black Church. I acknowledge my white female privilege in reading and reviewing this book.

Summary: A black history textbook wrapped up in a comedic wrapper.

I am all about a good Black history book. And I also really appriciate history told by comedians because they are trying to get around the way that many people are resistant to dry dates and events presentations of history.

Black AF History is not a dry presentation. The humor mostly works to get to the heart of the presentation. I think some of the voice of his uncle sections fall a bit flat. But the vast majority works well.

I think on of the by products of the presenation is that this is not a universal Black presentation, but a particular black presentation. That should be obvious becuase there is no universal Black experience that is true of all Black peole at all times. Harriot grew up with a rural southern Black cultural experience. That experience will be differnet from an northern urban Black experience and different from a midwestern farmbelt experience and different from California suburban experience. And all of these are still stereotypical in some way which makes them also incomplete.

It is a very rare history book that doesn't give me new information or nuance that I have not heard before. There is just too much history for anyone to know it all and no book can present it all. I think this is a very good presentation, but part of the benefit of the comedy is that he can pull out little known aspects of history and focus on them, because he isn't trying to do a complete survey, but point out how the history is not known well enough.

One of those figures that was new to me here is Mary Ellen Pleasant, arguably the first Black woman to be a milionaire. And adjusted for inflation, she may be considered the first Black billionaire. But she was also an abolitionist and is reportedly the funder of John Brown's Harper's Ferry raid. If the evidence is accurate she donated more than a million dollars in today value toward the raid. She underwrote court cases around desegregation and was an active abolitionist before the civil war. But she is a figure that I didn't know existed prior to this book.

I originally posted this on my blog at https://bookwi.se/black-af-history/