Baratunde Thurston

Futurist comedian, writer, and activist,

Baratunde Thurston is a futurist comedian, cultural critic, and author of the New York Times bestseller How To Be Black. Mr. Thurston co-founded Jack & Jill Politics, a black political blog whose coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention was archived by the Library of Congress. From 2007 to 2012 he was director of digital for The Onion, and served a similar role at The Daily Show. Mr. Thurston has been honored by the ACLU, advised the White House, and serves on the national board of BUILD, an organization that uses entrepreneurship-based experiential learning to propel underserved youth through high school on to college and career success. Fast Company listed him as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business, and The Root named him to its list of 100 most influential African-Americans. He holds a degree in philosophy from Harvard University.