Manishtana

Thoughts From A Unicorn Manishtana

Being a Black man in America means taking prejudice, bias, and ignorance head-on on a daily basis. Being a Jew in America means taking prejudice, bias, and ignorance head-on on a daily basis, but while trying to eat a bagel. But when you combine the two...? Enter Thoughts From A Unicorn, a witty and uncanny satire detailing the "not-autobiographical" account of MaNishtana, an African American Orthodox Jew from birth. Part of a growing cadre of Jewish writers and thought leaders of color, MaNishtana deftly takes the reader from ridiculous pop-culture ruminations to gut-punch insights on race, religion, and the failings of both in America. Written from a vulnerable place of honestly where hurt and humiliation are sometimes masked in humor, he minces no words in pointing out that American Jewry is not immune from the racism that affects the rest of the country, nor is the typically welcoming African-American community a safe-haven from anti-Semitism-even for the people who look like, and often are, family. While weaving through Jewish and ethnic references many readers will find unfamiliar, Thoughts From A Unicorn nonetheless offers indispensable commentary on the "outsider" experience universal to us all, regardless of race, religion, social status, or gender. Written with the honesty of a young leader in the Jewish world today, this newly rereleased, re-edited offering is a must read that exposes the pains, pleasures, and headaches of a non-white Jew in America, navigating social and cultural majorities that are convinced that said reality-much like the mythical unicorn-doesn't exist.