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How to Rent a Negro (2005)

by damali ayo

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733368,691 (4.11)None
A hilarious and satirical look at race relations that is almost too close for comfort, this pseudo-guidebook gives both renters and rentals "much-needed" advice and tips on technique. Reframing actual stories, techniques, requests, and responses gathered from the author's more than 30 years of research and experience, tips are provided in step-by-step outlines for renters to get the most for their money, and how rentals can become successful and wealthy, what they should wear, and topics of conversation to avoid. The book also serves up photo-dramatizations of some of the popular approaches covered in the book, handy tip-boxes, frequently asked questions for renters and rentals, a "How do I know if I'm being rented" quiz, a glossary of important terms, and "quickie" insta-rentals for those who need to rent on the go. Punctuated by quotes from former renters, and featuring rental diaries based on real encounters, this satire shocks and amuses, presenting a strikingly stark mirror of human relationships.… (more)
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I was kind of curious about the title and where the book was going and then I found it hilarious! ( )
  JerseyGirl21 | Jan 24, 2016 |
Indictment-by-satire of the liberal white penchants for tokenism, exoticism, and other but-I'm-not-a-racist! acts of racism.

It is not comfortable going for a liberal white girl. Sometimes I laughed; sometimes I writhed. Often I did both. (But as ayo points out, if I want black folk to make discussions of racism comfortable for me, I should hire myself a rental: going rates are $200-$350/hr.)

However, it's worth noting that carrying this book around in public is nearly as effective for demonstrating one's exciting, dangerous, I'm-not-a-racist credibility as inviting a black person to a party.

And at $14.95, it's a lot cheaper.
1 vote sanguinity | Oct 30, 2007 |
Ture, so true. ( )
  seki | Apr 23, 2007 |
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"I remember years ago ... when I would go to a party and I'd be the only colored brother there. And then I'd go to another party, and I'd be the only colored brother there. ... So now I recognized that there was a prime need to be filled here. So I started my famous Cambridge Rent-a-Negro Plan."
—Godfrey Cambridge, 1964
"Soon, I expect to see a Hertz Rent-a-Negro."
—Dick Gregory, c. 1965
"You can't just be everybody's rent-a-negro."
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A hilarious and satirical look at race relations that is almost too close for comfort, this pseudo-guidebook gives both renters and rentals "much-needed" advice and tips on technique. Reframing actual stories, techniques, requests, and responses gathered from the author's more than 30 years of research and experience, tips are provided in step-by-step outlines for renters to get the most for their money, and how rentals can become successful and wealthy, what they should wear, and topics of conversation to avoid. The book also serves up photo-dramatizations of some of the popular approaches covered in the book, handy tip-boxes, frequently asked questions for renters and rentals, a "How do I know if I'm being rented" quiz, a glossary of important terms, and "quickie" insta-rentals for those who need to rent on the go. Punctuated by quotes from former renters, and featuring rental diaries based on real encounters, this satire shocks and amuses, presenting a strikingly stark mirror of human relationships.

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