diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c85fbcc24c..fb6e25e657 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -272,10 +272,11 @@ reports:
 	mkdir -p $@
 
 black: reports
+	command -v black >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "could not find black on your PATH, you may need to \`pip install black\`, or set AWX_IGNORE_BLACK=1" && exit 1; }
 	(set -o pipefail && $@ $(BLACK_ARGS) awx awxkit awx_collection | tee reports/$@.report)
 
 .git/hooks/pre-commit:
-	echo "black --check \`[ -z \$$AWX_IGNORE_BLACK ] && git diff --cached --name-only | grep -E '\.py$\'\` || (echo 'To fix this, run \`make black\` to auto-format your code prior to commit, or set AWX_IGNORE_BLACK=1' && exit 1)" > .git/hooks/pre-commit
+	echo "[ -z \$$AWX_IGNORE_BLACK ] && (black --check \`git diff --cached --name-only | grep -E '\.py$\'\` || (echo 'To fix this, run \`make black\` to auto-format your code prior to commit, or set AWX_IGNORE_BLACK=1' && exit 1))" > .git/hooks/pre-commit
 	chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit
 
 genschema: reports