Black Comic Performance in the African Diaspora

Abstract

The performance of comedy before an audience is essentially a form of human communication. While it entertains, it also communicates a variety of messages, some obvious and some subtle. functions as a vehicle of phatic communion among members of a particular social or cultural group. For groups such as Barbadians and Trinidadians or black Americans engaged in humorous verbal exchange or comic storytelling the humor can reinforce group solidarity, provide a context for the development of verbal and social skills, and even provide a means of coping with various adverse social and political circumstances. According to Cummings (1980), It was because of our boundless appreciation of comedy and our uncanny ability to laugh at ourselves that we [black people] were able to turn our own human frailties and the host of negative experiences we've had into positive strong characteristic features. This article argues that the humor that is contained in the narratives and monologues written and performed by blacks in