Let’s Declare 2019 the Year of the Black Female Comedian
We no longer have to play into stereotypes to be seen
I’m just going to come out with it and say that 2019 is a thrilling time to be a Black female comic. From Tiffany Haddish dominating comedy blockbusters and Issa Rae blazing trails as a multi-award-winning film and television producer to young Black women being hired in writers’ rooms at an increasing rate, we are here.
We’ve been here. But now, we are being seen and heard more broadly and with more diversity. The best part is that with recognition and success comes the overdue freedom to finally allow some variety in our voices, voices as different and distinct as Black women themselves.
This variety of voice is something I have been searching for since I first had the inkling to try stand-up comedy. I used to type “funny Black female comedians” into Google, if only to discover a sense of hope by way of a familiar complexion. I think what I was really searching for was someone like me, or close enough, who would give me that extra push to clamber onstage. Instead, what I found was a group of Black female comedians pigeonholed into similar caricatures of delivery, style, and content.
It was tough to pinpoint the differences between great Black female comics like Mo’Nique, Sommore…
