Baratunde Thurston Takes on Nature, Democracy, and Our Underlying Connections
‘How to Be Black’ Author Gives a Lively Lecture at UC Santa Barbara
Greeting us with a run onto the stage, a high energy “What’s up?” and the cheerleader-style call and response of “I say UC, you say SB,” it was clear that “Proud Earthling” Baratunde Thurston was not going to give just any old lecture on “climate justice and environmental stewardship,” as the February 27 UCSB Arts & Lectures presentation was billed.
“Most of us are a chapter in a longer book that we did not initiate,” said the bestselling writer, commentator, podcaster (How to Citizen and Life with Machines), and Emmy-nominated host of PBS’ America Outdoors, who then proceeded to weave together stories of his “super Black name” (“I think what happened was my mother wanted to spend extra time in airport security.”), Facebook and its role as a “democracy stress test and birthday reminder,” and his growing appreciation for nature and the outdoors, in part through travel and exploration and in part through learning to surf.
His ability to integrate and synthesize a broad range of topics into an entertainingly relatable style was infectious, as well as impressive. For example, in response to a question from a student about climate change, Thurston advised we ask ourselves, “What are people gaining by not believing? We’ve weaponized straws …. In the real world, a question mark is more useful than an exclamation point. … People trade facts and science for belonging.”
He advised that the best way to get people on the same page is to start with a shared reality, something he works towards with his PBS show. He used the example of an episode with an Appalachian Mountain bee farmer who has a program to retrain former coal minors to work with bees.
“The awakening has to come with the right voice and the right sound,” said Thurston. He continued to speak about the importance of language and the power of it to transform, and was a living example of that as he shared an evening of stories successfully designed to both entertain and to help us see underlying connections between ourselves and others.
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