Ken Camell ll
Nov 13 2019
Afram 26
Critical Response #2
Word Count 493
Is Laughter The Best Medicine ?
Prior to reading some of Lawrence Levine's Black Culture and Black Consciousness I was under the impression that playing the dozens (yo momma jokes) was the product of 20th century urban U.S cities. Contrary to my initial conclusion Levine informs readers of the precolonial African origins of "yo momma" humor. According to Levine back in the 1600s A.D the Dahomey Tribe of West Africa (modern day Benin) participated in making jokes about one another's mother all in the name of innocent fun.
Finding humor in times of grief or trauma requires resilience plus laughter can be the best medicine for emotional pain , yes the relief is temporary however it is still relief. In 1994 I recall an off duty officer pulling a gun out on my cousin's father and this incident was provoked by a child supposedly kicking his fence. There was no humor in this situation however my family was so relieved none of us got shot we did laugh on the way home. I've also seen people laugh at funerals and wakes to prevent tears of pain from falling.
Dave Chapelle is the Richard Pryor of my generation therefore, Chapelle's observations, critiques and skits regarding socio-economic issues in the U.S are humorous plus historically accurate as well. Fact check any of Chappelle's input pertaining to race , religion and politics ( socio-economic) then you will conclude that he is an educator and an entertainer too. The Chappelle Show which aired on Comedy Central highlighted social inequities in the U.S with skits like "Black Racist" Clayton Bigsby where a blind Black man is a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The skit goes on to underline how ignorance and fear further perpetuate acts of racism aka acts of domestic terrorism. Chappelle's Black racist skit provokes thought , emotion and conversations involving how uncivilized white supremacy is. Chapelle used this specific skit to display how pseudo racism truly is furthermore Chapelle carries on the tradition of using comedy as a platform to expose how skewed the scales of justice are in the land of the free.
Comedians such as; Dick Gregory , Richard Pryor ,Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle Micheal Che and Trevor Noah utilize observational commentary which address the hypocrisy that exist in " The Land of The Free". Where as in the everyday world Melanated people use humor to reduce the sting racism inflicts by placing witty nicknames on racist people i.e. "Cornerstore Caroline" in Brooklyn New York or "Barbecue Becky" in Oakland Ca who attempted to falsify a police report and have a group of Melanated lake goers removed for using charcoal on the BBQ grill. Even though BBQ Becky attempted to shade their beautiful day at Lake Merritt, the Melanated people used humor and witt to stay calm and yet again demonstrate the resilience which resides inside of Black (Melanated) laughter.
