Tom Fudge: American humor is pretty much ethnic humor. And along with the great Jewish comics of history, African-Americans have made us laugh out loud. Their humor has changed with our changing attitudes about race. And some of the early black comedy may cause us a little discomfort today. The names of comedians like Step 'n Fetchit, for instance, have become synonymous with negative black caricatures.
Black humor, in fact, mines a very painful past and present, cracking jokes about racism, slavery, and "the man." The tradition of black comedy, and its great comics, is told in a book by Darryl Littleton. He's a comic and a joke writer. And his book is called, Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African Americans Taught Us How to Laugh . He has also written for a number of comics, including Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley.
One note of caution. We're going to be playing several scenes from comic acts during this part of our show. And some of the language heard in those recordings may be offensive to some of our listeners. So keep that in mind.
Guest
- Darryl Littleton , comedian, comedy writer and author.
Break Music:
Little Walter Rides Again
by Medeski, Scofield, Martin, and Wood, from the album
Out Louder
(2006)
End Music: Red Baron by Billy Cobham, from the album Spectrum (1973)
