Tyler Merritt

As a 6'2" dreadlocked black man, Tyler Merritt knows what it feels like to be stereotyped as threatening, which can have dangerous consequences. But he also knows that proximity to people who are different from ourselves can be a cure for racism. Tyler Merritt's video "Before You Call the Cops" has been viewed millions of times. He's appeared on Jimmy Kimmel and Sports Illustrated and has been profiled in the New York Times. The viral video's main point--the more you know someone, the more empathy, understanding, and compassion you have for that person--is the springboard for this book. By sharing his highs and exposing his lows, Tyler welcomes us into his world in order to help bridge the divides that seem to grow wider every day. In I Take My Coffee Black, Tyler tells hilarious stories from his own life as a black man in America. He talks about growing up in a multi-cultural community and realizing that he wasn't always welcome, how he quit sports for musical theater (that's where the girls were) to how Jesus barged in uninvited and changed his life forever (it all started with a Triple F.A.T. Goose jacket) to how he ended up at a small Bible college in Santa Cruz because he thought they had a great theater program (they didn't). Throughout his stories, he also seamlessly weaves in lessons about privilege, the legacy of lynching and sharecropping and why you don't cross black mamas. He teaches readers about the history of encoded racism that still undergirds our society today. By turns witty, insightful, touching, and laugh-out-loud funny, I Take My Coffee Black paints a portrait of black manhood in America and enlightens, illuminates, and entertains--ultimately building the kind of empathy that might just be the antidote against the racial injustice in our society.

Reflections on Tupac, Musical Theater, Faith, and Being Black in America

I Take My Coffee Black

From the author of I Take My Coffee Black, a sobering, humorous memoir about learning to let go and embrace the sanctity of life after being diagnosed with Cancer. When Tyler Merritt was diagnosed with cancer, everything he thought he knew about what mattered in life changed. This Changes Everything is a humorous and optimistic love letter to this beautiful life. Though he made it through a highly invasive surgery and thought he was in the clear, Tyler soon realized that the cancer had other plans. It wasn’t a question of if the tumor would come back for an encore, his doctors told him. It was a question of when. Laced with Tyler’s trademark humor, love of pop culture, and arguably too many musical theater references, This Changes Everything is a story about how wrestling with the idea of death can birth a whole new outlook on life, how we live it, and the urgency that comes when you grasp that time is a precious commodity.

A Surprisingly Funny Story About Race, Cancer, Faith, and Other Things We Don't Talk About

This Changes Everything

Tyler Merritt's video "Before You Call the Cops" has been viewed more than 60 million times. The viral video's main point--the more you know someone, the more empathy, understanding, and compassion you have for that person--is the springboard for this book. By sharing his highs and exposing his lows, Tyler welcomes us into his world, allowing us to get to know him and helping bridge the divides that seem to grow wider every day. In I Take My Coffee Black, Tyler tells hilarious stories from his own life as a black man in America. He talks about his multi-cultural childhood in Las Vegas that didn't necessarily prepare him for life in the South, his passion for rap music and musical theater, how Jesus barged in uninvited and changed his life forever (it all started with a Triple F.A.T. Goose jacket) and the shocking events that occurred after his video went viral that no one has heard. Throughout his stories, he also seamlessly weaves in lessons about privilege, the legacy of lynching and sharecropping, and why you don't cross black mamas, teaching readers about the history of encoded racism that still undergirds our society today. By turns witty, insightful, touching, and laugh-out-loud funny, I Take My Coffee Black not only paints a portrait of one man's experience of being Black in America, but also expresses the valuable connections we miss when we do not take the time to learn about others' lives and experiences. This book enlightens, illuminates, and entertains--ultimately building the kind of empathy that might just be the antidote against the racial injustice in our society.

Tyler Merritt

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