African American comedy has had a substantial role in American culture from minstrel shows, vaudeville, blackface,[1] and coon songs to some of the world's most popular comedians, shows and filmmakers.
Darryl Littleton[2][3][4] and Mel Watkins have written about the subject.[5][6] Paul Beatty edited Hokum: An Anthology of African-American Humor (2006).[7] So Why We Laugh; Black Comedians in Black Comedy is a documentary film.[8] Dexter G. Gordon wrote about humor in African American discourse.[9]
- ^ Macke, Matthew (7 September 2016). "Seeds on rocky soil: A history of African-American comedy". The Observer.
- ^ "A Short History of Black Comedy". NPR. 26 February 2007.
- ^ Littleton, Darryl (2006). Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught Us to Laugh. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-55783-730-1.[page needed]
- ^ Watkins, Mel (1999). On the Real Side: A History of African American Comedy. Lawrence Hill Books. ISBN 978-1-55652-351-9.[page needed]
- ^ Watkins, Mel (2002). African American Humor: The Best Black Comedy from Slavery to Today. Lawrence Hill Books. ISBN 978-1-55652-430-1.[page needed]
- ^ Watkins, Mel (1994). On the Real Side: Laughing, Lying, and Signifying: the Underground Tradition of African-American Humor that Transformed American Culture, from Slavery to Richard Pryor. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-68982-7.[page needed]
- ^ Beatty, Paul (2008). Hokum: An Anthology of African-American Humor. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-59691-716-3.[page needed]
- ^ Czajkowski, Elise (15 May 2012). "Inside the History of Black Comedy in 'Why We Laugh'". Vulture.
- ^ Gordon, Dexter B. (1998). "Humor in African American Discourse: Speaking of Oppression". Journal of Black Studies. 29 (2): 254–276. doi:10.1177/002193479802900207. JSTOR 2668092. S2CID 144388475.