How Not to Get Shot: And Other Advice from White People

Comedian Hughley (Black Man, White House) pulls no punches in this caustic, maddening, and hilarious examination of the current state of race relations in the United States. Hughley observes how often black people are killed by police in the U.S. and pairs the often sanctimonious advice from clueless white people on ways to avoid such a fate (e.g., don’t break the law, don’t dress like a thug) with equally ridiculous advice from African-Americans (e.g., always drive with a white male friend, only wear khakis and a polo shirt). It’s an effective way to highlight not only police brutality against African-Americans but also the casual racism of those who remain indifferent to or dismissive of the problem. Hughley is frequently funny in these pages, but he’s not playing solely for laughs—in addition to lists of “ ‘black names’ with white alternatives” (Jada correlates to Kellyanne Conway), he debunks myths and misleading statistics about single-parent households in black communities and the effectiveness of body cameras at reducing police violence. Hughley’s well-honed humor is filled with uncomfortable truths. (June)