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Baratunde Thurston

Baratunde Thurston
Baratunde R. Thurston (2).jpg
Thurston in 2012
Born Baratunde Rafiq Thurston
(1977-09-11) September 11, 1977 (age 39)
Washington, D.C., US
Occupation Comedian, author
Website http://www.baratunde.com

Baratunde Rafiq Thurston (/ˌbærəˈtnd/; born September 11, 1977) is an American writer, comedian, and commentator. Thurston co-founded the black political blog Jack and Jill Politics, whose coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention was archived in the Library Of Congress, and was director of digital for The Onion. In 2012, his book How to be Black became a New York Times bestseller.

Thurston was born in Washington, D.C. He grew up on the intersection of 14th and Newton Streets in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington. His father was killed when he was young and his mother worked in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He has an older sister. In junior high, his mother and he moved to a suburban black neighborhood in Maryland. Thurston was educated at the Sidwell Friends School and Harvard University where he graduated with a degree in Philosophy.

Thurston is the author of three self-published books:

As part of Laughing Liberally, Thurston emceed the YearlyKos convention in 2006 and also appeared in 2007.

Thurston has contributed to the Huffington Post and the Weekly Dig. More recently Thurston has become a semi-regular panelist on the podcast this Week in Tech with Leo Laporte.


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