Race and American Comedy

We should not be surprised to know that, in the search for real information about U.S. politics and similar goings-on around the world, many Americans turn to "Saturday Night Live" and the, back-to-back, fake news and punditry programming offered by "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." As politicians and the mainstream media who cover them, too often, appear out of step with the concerns of most Americans, these shows fill an aching void. For those of us who have spent the last eight years alarmed by unwarranted war, torture, fired prosecutors, illegal wiretapping, botched hurricane relief, no-bid contracts, missing billions, and other outgrowths of corporate corruption and governmental malfeasance, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Loren Michaels and their crew of writers and performers are among an invaluable cohort of entertainers who remind the reality-based community that we are not alone.

But these shows only paint a portion of the picture of political acumen and resistance on the American comedic landscape. What about the black political variety on U.S. television? To whom have Richard Pryor and Dick Gregory passed the baton of African American comedic observation? The absence of Dave Chappelle's cackle-punctuated prescience has left a woeful gap in an, already, floundering genre and while I'm not taking anything away from Chris Rock or D. L. Hughley, these two are yet to find sustainably lucrative vehicles for their politically-oriented work on television. Hughley's brilliance on "Real Time with Bill Maher" and other venues did not translate for his CNN-stint and despite the success of "Everybody Hates Chris," Rock's caustic, political wisdom on race (not gender) only shines every handful of years on HBO. This is no small accomplishment but his appearances are not as frequent as what NBC has offered us on Saturday nights for more than a quarter century or what Comedy Central serves up almost every Monday through Thursday (curse you reruns).

I was hopeful David Alan Grier's "Chocolate News" would right the ship of whiteness in televised political comedy by mining African American culture with a nuanced authenticity. At the very least his writers would not put one in mind of an attack of the jocular clones. Alas, Grier's smart and expansive brand of faux journalism has been axed.

The scenario for black female comediennes tackling political themes is even worse. Some construe the, largely sexual, antics of those who have made it to "Def Comedy Jam," the Bad Boyz of Comedy, or Black Embarrassment Television as political. These may be the same folks who see Lil Kim as a feminist icon - hey, I guess it's only a matter of time before she liberates African American women from the twin scourges of domestic violence and the HIV virus. OK, women who challenge the sexual status quo deserve some sort of credit but where are the black equivalents to Tina Fey, Janeane Garafalo, and Stephanie Miller? Who are the sistah-friend humorists of Wanda Sykes, Nancy Giles, and Frangela?

The channels for black, female, political humor on American television are blocked. This dearth is fostered, in part, by limiting, age-old notions of femaleness and the funny which have been examined by such scholars like Regina Barreca and others. Juxtaposed against perceptions of race and class in American life, these views intersect to create an atmosphere uniquely ghettoizing of African American women comics. My upcoming ethnographic study looks at black female standup life to show how raced and gendered ideas about status and identity affect the experiences of black women doing comedy today.

Sabiyha Prince is an assistant professor of anthropology at American University in Washington, D.C. and author of Constructing Belonging: Race, Class and Harlem's Professional Workers (Routledge Press 2006) See the show "Writers Speak! A Potentially Regrettable Evening with WGA Comedy Writers," this Friday May 8th, 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm at Washington DC's Newseum. More WGA blogs about the event available here.

 

 

Comments

[ediva75]

Thank you Ms Prince for also being aware of the lack of black female comedians to also take a stab at political humor. I would also like to see humor as a black woman from that aspect as well. Shoot I thought it was just me who was wishing to see black equivalents to Tina Fey, Janeane Garafalo, and Stephanie Miller.

[socialtalker]

once again a major scholar misses the whole point- namely black folks chose, both conciously and subconciously to be consumers/employees of the informatio­n/entertai­nment media instead of the owners, even glaring exceptions like daytime powerhouse oprah winfrey have to served the needs of her audience, primarily white women, although she has done some very notable black theme movies, special they are few and far between and she cant do it all by herself. tyler perry has built an empire on stereotypes. the fact is we dont have black corporations that will fund network shows or even cable shows to an adequate extent.
black folks watch more tv than at all time slots than any other group in this country, and yet they are passive with getting little to nothing for their viewing loyalty. we should have left network tv long ago and set up their own stations like the existance of some many hispanic stations.
also i cant believe the low level of participation in the new media by black folks, and most of the major so called "black" web sites are fronts for white corporations who put a short leash on what can be discussed.
i want this black out to continue, maybe it will force black folks to create a place of their own control and making that will have the kind of material we have too long been waiting for.

[King Cashaw]

So history has no relevance to you, or do you just not know much about history, econ, politics, and the such?

[mikefina]

Thanks for a thoughtful piece.

I wonder if the absence of black (particularly male) voices from mainstream venues is tied to the sexualization (as you alluded to) and more importantly the misogny of too much of the humor? Progressive voices are self-reported as 'tolerant', but there seems less tolerance for crude stereotyping of women, and reluctance to allow N***** in the comedy.

Dick Gregory titiled his brilliant autobiography N*****. Try that today.

We need more Chapelle's, Hughley's, Rock's, etc...maybe they need to tone down the act a bit for today's sensitive crowd.

[Jaradan]

This "thoughtful" piece is about missing black FEMALE comedians (or comediennes), NOT black males...so wtf are you talking about calling out 4 black comedians that are not missing in action?

[EisaUlen]

More writers of color are needed behind the scenes of these comedy / variety programs. And, yes, we need Dave back. Chapelle was amazing - to us now what Pryor was in the 70s. Let's hope we get a more accurate depiction of America in all her many hues from the comedians who know her best - comedians of color.

[devans00]

With all the hours a day cable/satellite TV has to fill everyday, you'd think they could spare a few hours a week to give a break a Black comedian or other entertainer. Or Asian or little person or disabled or another of the other types of Americans we only see as punchlines to jokes.

No wonder non-Americans are surprised to see our diversity when they come to the country.

[Myesha Williams]

i personally think we should be more concerned with getting real (serious) political talk shows by black folks out there on cable and mainstream stations before any comedy shows. Shows like Real TIme and The Daily Show would be nice, but even Tavis who is brilliant only airs on public acces television and though I value pbs, many do not tune in. I thought D.L. Hughley's show on CNN went from bad to worse, so I was happy it got canceled and I think it was premature and the wrong choice of comic. I applaud them for giving him the chance, but c'mon. I am also not surprised by this lack of the black perspective even though Obama is in office. We still have a long way to go folx...don't go getting too comfy.

[joelaf]

I've always thought that Mike Britt and Reggie McFadden represented the future of "black" comedy. Having done standup, and appreciating how HARD it is to really open up on stage, these 2 seem comfortable in their skin. Google or Youtube them.

[Jaradan]

I like Mike Britt. His comedy is crisp.

Reggie McFadden is a joke..and not in a good way.

[Kellea Tibbs]

Fantastic article. Your point about the lack of Black comedy resonates with what I have been saying all along. There hasn't been a great Black sitcom or the exposure of great Black comics on "regular" TV for some time now. The last show that I think Black people devoted their time to was probably The Cosby Show and A Different World. When those went off the air, it seems that the Big 3 have not felt the need to rebuild that type of franchise, which surprises me in the age of Obama. Season after season, most networks seem to produce the same types of sitcoms or dramas with the same types of casts, who remain mostly White.

I personally liked DL Hughley Breaks The News and I encouraged others to watch, and I was glad CNN took the chance in attempting to challenge the audience with a show like that, but unfortunately, people wouldn't support it.

As for BET, It's just that, Entertainment. I'm not making excuses for BET, but what I think people are missing is their goal is to ENTERTAIN, not to provide news. BET has been around for years and WE are just now realizing that WE have got to do better. I will give BET a little credit for airing more newsy, PSA, more intelligent programming lately, like Harlem Heights, Sunday Best, etc. other than the booty shaking music videos, however, they are still ENTERTAINMENT, they are not Bravo, they are not TNT.

[Norman Meyer]

With Black Male unemployment at nearly 50 % in NYC, what is there to be laughing about. These are serious times! Aint a damn thing funny...

[Jaradan]

Comedy in the face of "serious times" keeps the suicide rate from being as high as the unemployment rate. Lighten up.

[King Cashaw]

Black folks have survived more than high unemployment, WITH comedy. Go to a Black Barber Shoppe. Personally, I think this is where the next black sitcom should take place.

[KeysE2S]

"Black Embarrassment Television"
thank you

[Nommo]

I think that Ralph Ellison pretty much covered this one.

[Myesha Williams]

what'd he say?

[KPinSEA]

Well, at least you've got Michael Steele contributing hilarious political statements almost every day ....

[King Cashaw]

LOL! That's rich. I would think he is more along the line of "Black Embarrassment Television"