Ideas worth spreading

How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time

5,493,021 views |

Baratunde Thurston |

TED2019

• April 2019

Baratunde Thurston explores the phenomenon of white Americans calling the police on Black Americans who have committed the crimes of ... eating, walking or generally "living while Black." In this profound, thought-provoking and often hilarious talk, he reveals the power of language to change stories of trauma into stories of healing -- while challenging us all to level up.

Baratunde Thurston explores the phenomenon of white Americans calling the police on Black Americans who have committed the crimes of ... eating, walking or generally "living while Black." In this profound, thought-provoking and often hilarious talk, he reveals the power of language to change stories of trauma into stories of healing -- while challenging us all to level up.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Discover more content from the talk, view the database, support Baratunde’s work and get updates.

Visit Montgomery, Alabama and spend a day at the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Trust me.

About the speaker

Baratunde Thurston

Baratunde Thurston

Writer, activist, comedian

See speaker profile

Baratunde Thurston is an Emmy-nominated writer, activist and comedian who addresses serious issues with depth, wit and calls to action. He believes the stories we tell help shape the world in which we live. Also, he's from the future.

Baratunde Thurston | Harper Collins, 2012 | Book

How to Be Black

The book is a comedic memoir, chronicling Baratunde's coming-of-blackness from his early childhood raised by an Afrocentric single mother in Washington, D.C. through his education at The Sidwell Friends School and Harvard and into his first job. As he mentioned in his talk, if you haven't read it yet, you're a racist. Head to your closest retailer or library and get on that!

Baratunde Thurston | Explore

Living While Black, beyond the talk

At this site you can dive into the entire data repository of headlines Baratunde used to build the talk and which he still maintains. Here Baratunde will provide updates on the larger project and welcomes ideas and support in that and his other creative work.

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The Equal Justice Initiative

This organization significantly influenced Baratunde's talk after he visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, also known as "the lynching museum." The Equal Justice Initiative is doing incredible work exposing and wrestling with America's history in order to help us forge a more just future.

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The Center For Policing Equity

This organization is using science and technology to reduce disparities in policing, literally saving lives with science and fighting bias with big data. It's the nerdiest member of the justice league, and Baratunde owes much of his understanding, some of which is cited in his talk, to the Center For Policing Equity's research.

Carol Anderson | Bloomsbury USA, 2016 | Book

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide

Since 1865 and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, every time African Americans have made advances towards full participation in our democracy, white reaction has fueled a deliberate, relentless rollback of their gains. This book is an essential primer setting the record straight about the history and present of race in America. An essential piece of the puzzle for those who want to understand why things are the way they are.

Edgar Villanueva | Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018 | Book

Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance

Decolonizing Wealth is a provocative analysis of the dysfunctional colonial dynamics at play in philanthropy and finance. Edgar Villanueva draws from the traditions from the Native way to prescribe the medicine for restoring balance and healing our divides. This book has been a guiding light for Baratunde as his own theory of change evolves, delving deeper to the root of our challenges. Importantly, so many solutions to our problems are right there among the indigenous people we've tried to erase. We just need to stop and listen.

Learn more

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Discover more content from the talk, view the database, support Baratunde’s work and get updates.

Visit Montgomery, Alabama and spend a day at the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Trust me.