Who&39s Afraid of Post-Blackness What It Means to Be Black Now [Paperback]

Now in paperback, “one of the most acutely observed accounts of what it is like to be young, Black, and middle-class in contemporary America…told in a distinctive voice that is often humorous…but always intensely engaging” (Orlando Patterson,The New York Times).

In this provocative book, writer and cultural critic Touré explores the concept of Post-Blackness: the ability for someone to be rooted in but not restricted by their race. Drawing on his own experiences and those of 105 luminaries, he argues that racial identity should be understood as fluid, complex, and self-determined.Touréis a correspondent for MSNBC and a columnist for Time.com. He is the author ofNever Drank the Kool-Aid, a collection of essays,Soul City, a novel, and thePortable Promised Land, a collection of short stories. He hosts two shows on Fuse, theHiphop ShopandOn the Record, and remains a contributing editor toRolling Stone.Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness

Chapter 1

Forty Million Ways to Be Black

Once, I went skydiving. For about four minutes in 2007 I was above—and plummeting rapidly toward—a small town in the middle of the Florida panhandle. Jumped out of the plane solo at 14,000 feet. I did it for a TV show called “I’ll Try Anything Once” in which every week I accepted fear-inducing challenges. On the way to the skydiving center the production team stopped for lunch at a restaurant where three middle-aged Black men who worked there recognized me from TV and came over to our table to say hi. We got to talking and they asked what I was doing there.l£‘