He has clapped back at our hate mail weekly; regularly educates us on the inextricable links between American history and racism; has called out Pete Buttigieg on the biases and policies that most affect black America (prompting a sit-down with the presidential hopeful himself); and just this past weekend, The Rootโs Michael Harriot broke Black Twitterโand, by extension, Twitter en masseโby introducing the concept of being #blackfamous. Now, the NABJ Award-winner and resident โwypipologistโ of The Root is preparing to bring his brand of baldly-stated, black-ass brilliance to a bookstore near you.
Suggested Reading
Thatโs right: after an understandably competitive auction fielded and negotiated by Tanya McKinnon at McKinnon Literary, Michael Harriot has closed a two-book, seven-figure deal with publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourtโand as we celebrate the ascension of yet another of The Rootโs shining lights into the publishing world, we are thrilled to be relaunching our Itโs Lit! section with this incredible announcement.
โMichael Harriot is a singular writer, someone whose work is both deeply thoughtful and sharply humorous,โ Kate Napolitano, senior editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), tells us. โWhen his proposal first landed, I felt like an electric shock was running through meโthis guy was going for it, swinging for the fences.
โIn an industry that has historically been insular, elitist, and majority white, we need more writers like Harriot, who fearlessly speak truth to power and push the necessary conversations to the forefront,โ Napolitano adds, warning: โBeckys of the world, beware: Michael Harriot now has an officially sanctioned literary platform to take you down a peg.โ
An officially sanctioned literary platform, yโall. Beware indeed, because as Harriotโs Twitter bio reminds us, โhis pen is mightier than your sword.โ In keeping with the meticulous research and clever criticism heโs known for here at The Root, his first two releases will also have sociopolitical and historical anglesโand they already have titles:
โIn Wypipology, Harriot will give readers a master class on the customs and habits of white folks, and in Black AF History, Harriot provides his unique spin to existing historical narratives,โ HMH teases.
Of course, since we have the pleasure of working with Harriot every day, we also had the privilege of getting the scoop straight from the wypipologistโs mouth. He graciously told us the inspiration behind his upcoming tomesโthe first of which is scheduled for release in 2021.
โI was raised in a white people-free environment until I was 12 years old and discovering how and where I fit in the world meant that I had to intentionally examine whiteness,โ says Harriot. โWypipology: A More Critical Race Theory is based on my contention that one cannot understand race, racism or white supremacy by studying black history, African American culture or blackness in general. The only way to understand race is to learn about the people who created, perpetuated and maintain the concept: White people.
โThe book is one-quarter memoir, three-quarters anthropology and all funny,โ he continues. โWhether itโs exploring the concept of race as an economic construct or figuring out why white people are born with the ability to ice skate, America will finally have the textbook and field guide it needs to understand our unmelanated, pinch-of-salted brethren.โ
As Harriot indicates, Wypipology will be formatted like a textbookโincluding quizzes, supplemental reading, a glossary and the like. (If you also had flashbacks of โ80s-era slideshows while reading that, raise your hand.)
As for Black AF History, scheduled for 2022, Harriot credits Twitter for making the upcoming book a reality, as his hugely popular history threads have been shared by millions across the platform. Harriot tells us: โBlack AF History is an unapologetic and entertaining reframing of Americaโs untold Black history. Readers will learn how fear of a race war spawned the Second Amendment; the stories of black women who freed more slaves than Harriet Tubman; when white supremacists overthrew the U.S. government and how not being invited to a cookout created American policing.โ
Frankly, we canโt wait to see what insights Harriot brings to our largely unknown historyโbecause just like the name of this column, when it comes to his writing, itโs (always) lit!
But when asked how he feels about this pivotal moment in his career, our beloved Harriot remains humbleโand humorousโas ever, telling us:
โHonestly, the most satisfying part of this experience was having the opportunity to hear some of Americaโs most respected publishing houses try to pronounce โWypipology.โโ
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