MICHAELHARRIOT
BLACK AF HISTORY
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE * AMAZON'S TOP 10 HISTORY BOOKS OF 2023 * B&N BEST OF EDUCATIONAL HISTORY BOOK * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023 * AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR
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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.​
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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.
“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, author of "How to be an Antiracist
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“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
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“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​
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“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
ARTICLES
How a City Ignored the Rape, Murder and Terrorism of Black Women for Four Decades
Reporting from the site of a mass shooting.
The writer, cultural critic and wypipologist explains why he chose theGrio as his full-time home.
Slavery is the usual argument for reparations. But there’s another reason.
Why 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' is a perfect anthem for Black America..
The one.