Larry Wilmore isn't the first African American to deride Black History Month -- or, as he calls it, "28 Days of Trivia" -- but I couldn't help teasing him for promoting a book during a holiday he's derided.
"Guilty as charged," he tells me, as we chat about I'd Rather We Got Casinos … And Other Black Thoughts (Hyperion). "It's a coincidence, I swear.
"The book was supposed to come out months early. We just hit delays."
As a member of the craven, shallow media, I'd love to call The Daily Show's Senior Black Correspondent a hypocrite, but I can't really take that cheap shot.
You see, Bill Maher and, Dennis Miller are comedians who take political stands. It's possible to call them hypocrites.
Wilmore does something else. The Emmy Award-winning writer (The Bernie Mac Show) takes comic positions, and argues any side of an issue for laughs. He also does it with extraordinary ease.
Chocolaty Good Racial Issues
In one of the book's 28 pieces (a few no longer than a page), he offers a eulogy for the "N-word," after its symbolic burial by the NAACP (which he wants renamed "The National Association of Chocolate People").
Then, later in the book, he digs up the "n" word for a fair trial and becomes its legal counsel, essentially arguing that his five-letter client is victim of a high-tech lynching.
"Of all the offensive words in the English language, we choose to ban, we pick on the one black people use the most? Good lookin' out, bro," he tells the court.
"Seriously though, no one else finds it strange that the 'n' word is getting picked on? Last time I checked, that was called 'racial profiling'."
In a series of increasingly emphatic letters to the NAACP, Wilmore urges the organization to change its name. He says African Americans should chuck out terms like "colored," "black" and even "African American." In the name of racial harmony, they should call themselves "chocolate," simply because "who doesn't love chocolate?"
(And, yes, he did write this bit before the launch of Comedy Central's Chocolate News.)
Among the book's best pieces: A disturbingly friendly chat with "The Man" -- the unseen person from that shadowy part of society that's always screwing with you.
"It's just a job, like fixing air conditioners. I just fix the system so you have a very difficult time getting over," The Man says, describing himself as a Wii-playing, American Idol-watching Average Joe.
The Man doesn't track your every move. (That's Big Brother.) And he isn't responsible for things like Rodney King beating. (He just played a hand in the rogue cops' acquittal.) And like everyone else, The Man wants to be loved.
Other blips on Wilmore's radar: What's to love (and hate) about black weathermen; why brothers don't see UFOs; and the search for Black Jesus.
In one of the funniest bits, "Text Messages from a Birmingham Jail," Wilmore puts himself in MLK's shoes, only with a cell phone. The results are slightly less eloquent:
OHLSON: were r u dud?
WILMORE: jail. brminghm AL
OHLSON: shit! LOL!
WILMORE: Not funny. ths gys r Sirius. like im bk in the 50s. so mch H8.
OHLSON: FWIW u shouln't b n AL n the 1st plays.
I must admit I needed a text-messaging translation key to know "FWIW" means "for what it's worth".
Nevertheless, FWIW, I recommend you read, "I'd Rather We Got Casinos . . . and Other Black Thoughts," if only to celebrate Chocolate History Month.
Photo ©Hyperion Books
Comments
BLACK AMERICA AND THE N-WORD:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP2U0jmZjec