Baratunde Thurston: How to be Black

Baratunde Thurston is the author of the memoir (and book of advice) How to be Black. I had the pleasure of chatting with him at the annual Ray Warren Multicultural Symposium at Lewis & Clark College where he was a keynote speaker.

We spent the first half of the interview chatting about his upbringing, juggling identities of a black kid growing up in Washington DC in the 80s while attending Sidwell Friends School as well as the African heritage program, Ankobia. The second half of our interview dealt more specifically in negotiating race and politics, especially in light of our nation’s reaction to President Obama.

This interview was featured on APA Compass on KBOO 90.7 FM for our February episode, which showcased highlights from the Multicultural Symposium, including the infamous Race Monologues by many of Lewis & Clark’s brave undergraduate students.

Air Date: 2/1/2012 APACompass_BaratundeThurston_podcast

You can access the transcript of the interview: APACompass_BaratundeThurston_transcript