Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America

by Michael Harriot

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Deep dive research, unsparing and entertaining, told with a piercing humor and direct delivery, Michael Harriot, author and social critic, writer for The Root and The Grio and host of the Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History podcast, is here to tell you what is missing from our American "history" books. Turns out quite a bit, and the omissions are not accidental. A truth-to-power book--think Dick Gregory meets Nikole Hannah-Jones--that proves how much more riveting history class should have been. Pay close attention; there are sidebars and quizzes throughout!

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE * AMAZON'S TOP 20 HISTORY BOOKS OF 2023 * B&N BEST OF EDUCATIONAL HISTORY * THE ROOT'S BEST BOOKS OF 2023 * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023

From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.

America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It is the story of the pilgrims on the Mayflower building a new nation. It is George Washington’s cherry tree and Abraham Lincoln’s log cabin. It is the fantastic tale of slaves that spontaneously teleported themselves here with nothing but strong backs and negro spirituals. It is a sugarcoated legend based on an almost true story.

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. Combining unapologetically provocative storytelling with meticulous research based on primary sources as well as the work of pioneering Black historians, scholars, and journalists, Harriot removes the white sugarcoating from the American story, placing Black people squarely at the center. With incisive wit, Harriot speaks hilarious truth to oppressive power, subverting conventional historical narratives with little-known stories about the experiences of Black Americans. From the African Americans who arrived before 1619 to the unenslavable bandit who inspired America’s first police force, this long overdue corrective provides a revealing look into our past that is as urgent as it is necessary. For too long, we have refused to acknowledge that American history is white history. Not this one. This history is Black AF. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358439165
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/19/2023
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	17,970
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Michael Harriot is a columnist at theGrio.com where he covers the intersection of race, politics, and culture. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, The Atlantic, NBC, BET, and on his mother’s refrigerator. He is a political commentator on MSNBC and CNN and has been honored by the National Association of Black Journalists for commentary, digital commentary, and TV news writing. Michael is the creator and cohost of the podcast Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History, produced in partnership with Pharrel's OTHERtone. His college course “Race: An Economic Construct” was adapted by university economics departments across the country as a model for teaching the combination of history, economics, politics, and class structures. 

Editorial Reviews

★ 07/31/2023

Harriot (The Situation in South Carolina), a columnist at TheGrio, offers a razor-sharp reassessment of American history. In a textbook format (including end-of-chapter quizzes and sidebars) meant to counter the “whitewashed” version of U.S. history often taught in schools, Harriot examines well-known events—including the founding of Jamestown and the growth of the Atlantic slave trade—with a focus on the experiences and contributions of Indigenous and Black people, such as enslaved West Africans’ introduction of rice (“America’s first edible cash crop”) to South Carolina. He also resurfaces lesser-known figures, including Mustafa Azemmouri, who “explore more of the North American continent than Lewis or Clark.” An enslaved African, Azemmouri survived the arduous Narváez expedition of 1527, which included a trek on foot from Florida to Mexico, and was subsequently commissioned by the king of Spain to lead his own expedition into what is now the American Southwest. Also profiled are Jemmy, the West African leader of the 1739 Stono Rebellion in Charleston, S.C., and Rosetta Tharpe, the pioneering musician and “godmother” of rock and roll. Both entertainingly colloquial and impressively erudite, this meticulous survey of the American past is an invaluable resource. Educators should take note. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

In a desert of denialism, Harriot's book is a welcome oasis.” — NPR

“Harriot gives us the story of American history we’ve been missing – one that keeps it real and accounts for the often-overlooked experience of Black Americans.” 
— The Root

“With masterful storytelling and extensive, accurate research, Harriot subverts the dominant American narrative, creating a history that is both more truthful and beautifully Black AF.” — The Archive

“Homeschooled in the works of Zora Neale Hurston and W.E.B. Du Bois before becoming an award-winning journalist (for the Grio, Washington Post, CNN, etc.), Harriot makes for a wise and charming guide through the American funhouse of horrors: slavery, erasure, white supremacy — it’s a long list.” — Philadelphia Inquirer

“The book is an amalgam of history, biographies, family memories, political analyses, self-reflection and cultural telescoping. There are recipes and opinions on the differences between soul food and southern cooking. Deadly funny in parts, it can readily provoke readers to laugh out loud and then wonder why they’re laughing. The work’s intentionally fragmented style is a reflection of the duality and duplicity of daily life in Black America.”
— The Bay State Banner

“A razor-sharp reassessment of American history. . . . Entertainingly colloquial and impressively erudite, this meticulous survey of the American past is an invaluable resource.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Brilliant" — Terry Hong, Booklist (starred review)

"Fresh eyes and bold, entertaining language combine in this authoritative, essential work of U.S. history." — Kirkus Reviews

“A masterwork… Harriot is completely unafraid to call bullshit where it is warranted, and the humorous sidebars, digressions, and reader activities add further value to a history that every American would do well to read… He presents the material in a way that promises to keep readers engaged and, when required, agitated and spurred to action, and documentation offers ample opportunity for anyone to dig further into a particular topic.” — Kirkus Reviews

“A stirring correction of U.S. history. . . . Emphasizing Black survival and resistance, Harriot simplifies complex issues into easily understandable, digestible bites. . . . With blunt, entertaining, irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes laugh-out-loud statements, Harriot provocatively explains how the United States came to be and how money-focused, self-serving intentions made it what it is today.” — Library Journal

“Michael Harriot has done it. Written a book that evokes the full range of human emotions. Laughter. Rage. Sadness. Love (of Black resistance). Hate (of anti-Blackness). More laughter. Constant thinking and connecting and discovering. What an experience. But how can this book be anything less when it is Black AF History.” — Ibram X. Kendi, Award-winning author

“This is history as it should be told: straight, no chaser; unvarnished and unembossed. Michael Harriot, the Samuel L. Jackson of the written word, strikes again, weaving fascinating facts, scathing humor and pieces of his own life story to detail the stony road we trod.” — Joy Reid, Host of The ReidOut on MSNBC

“The story we've been told about America has always been redacted. With Black AF History, Michael Harriot removes the redacted parts and replaces them with griot-level storytelling. This is what everyone wishes their high school courses were actually like. Halfway through, you realize that this is not even a book about Black history, it's about how American history is Black AF.” — Pharrell Williams, Grammy Award-winning producer and musician

“Michael Harriot tells the most shocking (not shocking) stories of Black History I've ever heard. Every story is unbelievable yet, unfortunately, completely believable. Black AF History should be taught in every school across America.” — Amber Ruffin, comedian and host of The Amber Ruffin Show

“If I ever won an election for political office, I would have them swear me in on a copy of Black AF History. Michael Harriot is too funny to be this smart. Now, I have to go google how to ship a case of these to Ron DeSantis.” — W. Kamau Bell, Award-winning television host and stand-up comedian

"Black AF History is certain to make some readers uncomfortable. Some people won’t read it, dismissing it as a revisionist account of American history. But those are exactly the people who need it most.” — Pittsburg Post-Gazette

From the Publisher

07/01/2023

Political commentator Herriot mixes family and personal stories with street-savvy commentary into a stirring correction of U.S. history. This work mocks long-standing fabrications that have embedded traditions of white supremacy. Beginning in the 1400s with the Age of Discovery of European exploration, this book flips perspectives on standard historical details that shift the focus from Eurocentrism to the views of exploited and exterminated people of color. The book describes the United States' true origin story as a settlement on lands wrenched from Indigenous peoples. The author stresses that the U.S. became wealthy from a race-based human trafficking system that enshrined the laws of property and white supremacy, which reduced people to chattel through violence. Emphasizing Black survival and resistance, Herriot simplifies complex issues into easily understandable, digestible bites. At the end of every chapter, there are "Three Little Questions," "Key Terms," and "Activity" sections that extend teachable moments. VERDICT With blunt, entertaining, irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes laugh-out-loud statements, Herriot provocatively explains how the United States came to be and how money-focused, self-serving intentions made it what it is today. Contains important, noteworthy lessons for teen and adult readers.—Thomas J. Davis

Library Journal

★ 2023-07-07
A vibrant retelling of American history that explodes “the whitewashed mythology enshrined in our collective memory.”

In his simultaneously humorous and heartbreaking debut book, journalist and cultural critic Harriot offers an impressively researched and thoughtful exploration of the African diaspora over the past 500 years. The author weaves humor and wit with history and advocacy, and he takes readers on countless edifying twists and turns that debunk myths or clarify accepted terms and conditions. Harriot is adept at reframing conventional history, showing us how the slave trade was human trafficking, plantations were “forced labor enterprises,” Jim Crow was American apartheid, and lynch mobsters were serial killers and ethnic cleansers. Though pertinent historical names and events come to the forefront, forgotten players and details receive equal attention. “The Emancipation Proclamation couldn’t free the slaves,” he writes. “Black people freed themselves. And in doing so, they defeated the Confederacy and freed America from its most undemocratic institution.” Harriot also injects appropriate modern analogies—e.g., regarding W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, “this beef was bigger than Jay-Z vs. Nas; shadier than Michael Jackson vs. Prince; more contentious than sugar vs. salt in grits.” After noting Ida B. Wells’ “allergy to white nonsense and patriarchy,” the author later devotes an entire chapter to the women who started and contributed to the Civil Rights Movement. In a nod to family, the book is also seasoned with stories from Harriot’s own life and family history, including the “Top-Secret Recipe for Aunt Phyllis’s Fried Chicken.” An uncle even steps in to share some of the narrating duties. Each chapter concludes with an amusing yet informative quiz, and the text includes a wide variety of digressive asides and illuminating sidebar passages—e.g., “The Difference Between Soul Food and Southern Cuisine,” “The Real Wakanda.” Fagbamiye’s illustrations complement the text well.

Fresh eyes and bold, entertaining language combine in this authoritative, essential work of U.S. history.

Kirkus Reviews

A truth-to-power book—think Dick Gregory meets Nikole Hannah-Jones—that proves how much more riveting history class should have been.”

Barnes&Noble.com

A book that evokes the full range of human emotions. Laughter. Rage. Sadness. Love (of Black resistance). Hate (of anti-Blackness). More laughter. Constant thinking and connecting and discovering. What an experience.”

National Book Award winner and New York Times best Ibram X. Kendi

The story we’ve been told about America has always been redacted. With Black AF History, Michael Harriot removes the redacted parts and replaces them with griot-level storytelling. This is what everyone wishes their high school courses were actually like.”

Grammy Award-winning producer and musician Pharrell Williams