Basic Black: Home Training for Modern Times (Paperback)

~ (Author), Karen Elyse Hudson (Author) "We all know what CP time is..." (more)
Key Phrases: coed showers, good home training, informal wedding, African American, Los Angeles, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Home Training Some call it good manners; in African American vernacular, it's called "home training." With Basic Black: Home Training for Modern Times, media freelancers Karen Grigsby Bates and Karen Elyse Hudson provide a modern African American alternative to Emily Post and Miss Manners. Addressed to the growing black middle class, this user-friendly volume is filled with information on social rites of passage, the new corporate workplace and everyday rules and rituals that make for more gracious living. Covering such situations as how to handle yourself in a restaurant where you've received unacceptable treatment, common courtesies to be shown to household help and how to respond to racial harassment at work, Bates and Hudson offer a guide that will be of benefit to men and women, singles and families.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

To some it's "etiquette" or "socialization," but to many African Americans it's "Home Training"?instruction in accepted mores and values. This tradition has not been explored in other etiquette books, but here the job is undertaken "the way our grandmothers, mothers and aunts have taught us for centuries." Bates (a contributing columnist to the Los Angeles Times) and Hudson (Paul R. Williams, Architect, LJ 1/94) address not only those good manners that are universal but also unique African American observances and the delicate art of being both polite and assertive in response to unacceptable treatment or thoughtless remarks. Recommended for public libraries.?Susan B. Hagloch, Tuscarawas Cty. P.L., New Philadelphia, Ohio
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (January 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767907310
• ISBN-13: 978-0767907316
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #947,068 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for your home....., April 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Basic Black: Home Training for Modern Times (Hardcover)

Basic Black is a book that should be on your shelf. It covers topics that we ordinarily overlook, while it providers a refresher of Manners 101. If you've ever had a question about what the "appropriate" thing to do is, then you should buy this book

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have a "?", the Black Book has the answer, May 10, 2001

By	"ilvblkmen1" (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Basic Black: Home Training for Modern Times (Hardcover)

I brought this book through a book club that I joined recently. At first I didn't think it could tell me anything that I didn't already know, but it did. This book tells you important things that some of us seem like we didn't know the answers to (i.e., when you go on an interview what is too much when it comes to dressing). It "reminds" us of things that we see and may sometimes do that we shouldn't (i.e., if we are in a resturant and we see other's waiting to be seated, don't continue to hog the table while just talking). The book is really based upon common sense, but sometimes people choose not to use it; therefor, the book reminds you to use those common sense cells located in the brain. It's a good little book to have.

5.0 out of 5 stars This book came in handy a LOT, September 30, 2009

By	A. Smith "Avid Reader" (Fort Wayne, IN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchased this book several years ago as a hard cover. I learned a lot about what is and isnt appropriate for a formal dinner party, how to gracefully eat ribs in public and it answered the question as to how to tip a great mail carrier. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to make things Just Right.