Making Friends With Black People - Softcover

Adams, Nick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 075821295X ISBN 13: 9780758212955

Publisher: Kensington, 2006

Synopsis

White people of America, we know you've got it rough.

Sure, black men and women have been through four hundred years of slavery, oppression, murder, and watching white college students try to dance. But now that it's hip to have black friends, white people aren't sure how to go about it. And that is a real American tragedy. Thank God Nick Adams is here to help you avoid potential racial pitfalls and successfully make the transition from white to "aiight." Now, you'll know not to start a conversation with, "So, that new Jay-Z album is pretty great, right?" Or tell a co-worker he looks just like (fill in blank with name of dark-skinned person who works in the other building.) You'll know that a lot of black people you meet at parties or work functions don't care who played Thelma's husband on "Good Times", don't want to discuss the Malcolm X biography you just read and definitely don't want to listen to country music. Ever. Yes, it's a good thing Nick is here to explain. Because if we're going to live together in peace and harmony, you people are going to need help.

Black People, Briefly Explained. A Q&A with Nick Adams

Q: Nick, what is the correct term to use when addressing my new friends: Black or African-American?
A: Personally, I always liked Afro-American. I liked being named after a 1970's hairdo. But then I wondered why we didn't become the Jheri-curled Americans or High Top Fade Americans.

Q: Nick, if black people can use the "N" word as a term of endearment, can I, a white person, do so?
A: No. I don't care if you have your hair in cornrows while wearing a Phat Farm t-shirt at an R. Kelly concert. Black people don't get to be president, and white people don't get to use the word nigger. Can we just call it even now?

Q: Nick, I'd like to try slang. Is that okay?
A: When you guys start using our words, that's when we know it's time for us to stop using them. Every time a white, middle-aged math teacher calls a student, "dog," black people all over the country are notified via email. Believe it.

Q: Nick, surely you have to agree that Eminem is a hip-hop visionary?
A: Let's try this one more time: Kurtis Blow, RUN-DMC, LL Cool J, Rakim, Chuck D, KRS-One, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Common, Mos Def, Bitch!

About this title

From Booklist:

Stand-up comic Adams takes a hilarious look at race relations in the U.S and the varied and often ridiculous ways we try to bridge the gap that exists between black and white cultures. He begins by examining the long and tortured history of the "N word" and why it's still not a good idea for whites to use it as casually as black stand-up comics. Adams goes on to the evolution of racial descriptors from Negro to Afro-American and black and takes on Ebonics. Rap music and the popularity of white rapper Eminem dominate the section on music and culture as Adams explores the American fascination with the culture of what's cool. Finally, in the section on politics and society, he tackles affirmative action, NASCAR, and other signifiers used to dodge deep racial tensions. Funny and astute. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Kensington
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 075821295X
• ISBN 13: 9780758212955
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 193