WINTER 2014 WeAmerican Love Humor Lucy! OHC BOARD OF TRUSTEES Dr. William Bryans, Chair Oklahoma State University Dr. Susan McCarthy, Vice Chair/Sec. VOLUME 7, ISSUE NO. 1 WINTER 2014 Oklahoma City Mary Blankenship Pointer, Treasurer Oklahoma City EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ann Thompson J. Edward Barth EDITOR, DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Carla Walker Oklahoma City MARKETING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Traci Jinkens PROGRAM OFFICER Kelly Elsey Dr. Mary Brodnax PROGRAM OFFICER Caroline Lowery University of Central Oklahoma FISCAL OFFICER Charles White Judy Cawthon ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR Brandi Davis Edmond Oklahoma HUMANITIES is published three times per year: January, May, and September by Beverly Davis the Oklahoma Humanities Council (OHC), 428 W. California Ave., Ste. 270, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City OK 73102, (405) 235-0280, www.okhumanities.org. Ken Fergeson OHC is an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide meaningful Altus public engagement with the humanities—disciplines such as history, literature, film studies, Dr. Britton Gildersleeve ethics, and philosophy. The humanities offer a deeper understanding of ourselves and others Tulsa by confronting us with the questions, values, and meanings of the human experience. As the state partner for the National Endowment for the Humanities, OHC brings people Hannibal Johnson together to explore these ideas through programming and community grants that support Tulsa book groups, exhibits, film festivals, teacher institutes, and more. OHC engages people in Dr. Scott LaMascus their own communities, providing forums for education, critical thinking, and productive Oklahoma Christian University civil discourse. The opinions expressed in Oklahoma HUMANITIES are those of the authors. Any views, John Martin findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the magazine do not necessarily Enid represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Oklahoma Humanities Lynn McIntosh Council, its Board of Trustees, staff, or donors. Ardmore Reader letters are welcome and may be directed to the editor at: [email protected] Mary Ellen Meredith or by mailing to the above address. Letters are published subject to editorial discretion and may Oklahoma City be edited for clarity or space. Oklahoma HUMANITIES is distributed free of charge to supporters of the Oklahoma Lou Nelson Humanities Council. For a free one-year subscription—or to obtain detailed information on Guymon our privacy policy—visit okhumanities.org or call us at: (405) 235-0280. Brenda Porton Broken Bow Dr. Gordon Taylor Tulsa Dr. Jerry Vannatta WINTER 2014 University of Oklahoma ON THE COVER Valorie Walters Lucille Ball, Alexander Novoseltsev. Digital artist Ada Alexander Novoseltsev creates illustrations and realistic caricatures of famous people and Susan Webb characters. His caricatures have been among Oklahoma City winning entries in competitions, including Facebook’s Caricaturama Showdown 3000. Darlene Williams His work was also included in Simply the Best Jenks 2, an international juried online exhibition from J. Ron Wright Digital Arts: California. Alex lives and works in Samara, Russia. be.net/alexnovoseltsev or Muskogee American Humor facebook.com/alexander.novoseltsev We Love Lucy! 2 WINTER 2014 Contents WINTER 2014 AMERICAN HUMOR NEWS FLASH: The humanities have a sense of humor! Oh, we know our fuddy-duddy reputation: history, literature, and art criticism are scorned as “elitist”; jurisprudence and comparative religion labeled “scholarly”; ethics and philosophy pegged “esoteric.” In this issue, we prick those lead balloons and take humor on a joyride through this satire-comedy-farce-parody-slapstick-hilarity we call the human endeavor. Find out how comedy can break the barriers of race and gender—or solidify them. See how humor frames our politics and our worldview. Discover how group laughter reveals whether we’re insiders or outsiders. For fun we’ll throw in a poem or two, a good yarn, and tomfoolery too. Can the humanities be funny? Judge for yourself. 9 FEATURES 6 The American Sense of Humor Americans have always placed a high value on their ability to laugh. BY M. THOMAS INGE 9 Will Rogers in the 21st Century Influencing Politics with Humor Move over, Jon Stewart. Will was there first. 6 15 BY BRETT S. SHARP 14 The Witty N. Scott Momaday Humor from an Oklahoma Treasure. 15 Skirting Stereotypes—Women in Comedy It’s not about gender, it’s about humanity. BY JOANNA E. RAPF 19 27 20 In Defense of Typos, Creative Spelling, and General Proofreading Tomfoolery The catharsis of thesaurus and other strange communications. IN EVERY ISSUE BY VIKI CRAIG 4 From the Executive Director 20 A Brief History of African American Humor 5 From the OHC Board of Trustees The rich tradition that evolved from 19th-century minstrelsy. 31 End Notes from the Editor BY GERALD EARLY 27 A Word that Changed the World In comedy, and in life, timing is everything. OklahomaHumanitiesCouncil okhumanities OKHumanitiesCouncil BY STEVE HELLER Oklahoma HUMANITIES 3 WELCOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS The Oklahoma Humanities Council is proud to welcome the following as new members of our Board of Trustees. KEN FERGESON has been a major contributor to the banking industry and to his community as the Chairman of NBC Oklahoma in Altus, Oklahoma. He has served on boards and councils at local, state, and national levels in the banking arena and in his personal interest of supporting and promoting the arts. He is the current chairman of the Mid-America Arts Alliance Board and immediate past chairman of the national Americans for the Arts organization. He is a past chairman of the American Bankers Association and continues to be active with the Oklahoma Bankers Association. From the Executive Director His membership on the Native American Cultural and Educational ANN THOMPSON Authority Board is by appointment of the Oklahoma Governor. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2009, received the Oklahoma Governor’s Arts Award in 1994 and 2000, and In November, several OHC staff and board members was the recipient of the 2001 Business in Arts Leadership Award attended the National Humanities Conference, held in by the Business Committee for the Arts, Inc. (BCA) and FORBES Birmingham, Alabama. The annual event, sponsored by the Magazine. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s Federation of State Humanities Councils, is an opportunity in economics from Texas Tech University. for the 56 state and territorial humanities councils to come together to learn best practices for programming, fundraising, HANNIBAL B. JOHNSON is a graduate of Harvard Law School. and advocacy, and, through special speakers, to be inspired to He is an attorney, author, and independent consultant and has continue our work for the public good. served as an adjunct professor at universities across Oklahoma. In recognition of the fiftieth anniversary of several civil Johnson is past president of the Metropolitan Tulsa Urban League rights events, the conference theme was “Lifting Us Up: and past president of the Northeast Oklahoma Black Lawyers Reflection, Reconciliation, and Renewal.” Our opening session Association. He currently serves on the Oklahoma Advisory was held in the 16th Street Baptist Church, a center for civil Committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and is a rights activities that was bombed in 1963 by KKK members, member of the Programs Committee for the John Hope Franklin killing four young girls. Center for Reconciliation. Among his numerous honors are: 2013 The Inclusives diversity award from Tulsa’s Young Professionals; Imagine sitting in that sanctuary today, listening to 2012 Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Diversity Award from the Oklahoma individuals who have connections to that tragic event. Judge Bar Association; Keeping The Dream Alive award from the Dr. Helen Shores Lee described how, as a young girl, her home Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Society; Outstanding on so-called “Dynamite Hill” was bombed repeatedly. Diane Service to the Public Award from the Oklahoma Bar Association; McWhorter discussed her research into why many whites in Distinguished Leadership Award from the National Association for Birmingham at that time did not question anti-black attacks. Community Leadership; 2005 Ralph Ellison Literary Award from Doug Jones, former U.S. Attorney, related the efforts to the Black Liberated Arts Center; and the 2006 Oklahoma Human successfully try the church bombers and bring them to justice. Rights Award from the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission. Freeman Hrabowski, President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, was our keynote speaker. He VALORIE WALTERS earned a bachelor of arts degree in mass told us about participating in the Birmingham children’s communications with a concentration in advertising and public march at just twelve years old, how he was spat upon by relations from East Central University. She has been employed Bull Connor, Commissioner of Public Safety, and jailed for with the Chickasaw Nation since 2002, including positions as five days. When Dr. Hrabowski’s mother called many years education specialist and special projects coordinator. She currently serves as the Executive Officer for the Chickasaw Cultural Center in later to inform him of Connor’s death, she admonished him Sulphur, Oklahoma, where her duties include overseeing day-to- for his initial feeling of relief on hearing the news. “He was day operations of the center. An enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw somebody’s child,” she said. Nation, her Native heritage is Chickasaw/Choctaw. This story epitomizes the inspiring message of reflection, reconciliation, and renewal we carry from our time at the conference. It points to the heart of the work of state humanities Send your comments, questions, and suggestions to councils: to ask the hard questions, to explore issues through Editor Carla Walker at: [email protected] or mail the perspective of the humanities, to encourage discussion in correspondence to Oklahoma HUMANITIES, Attn.: Editor, a safe forum, and ultimately, we hope, to inspire a thoughtful 428 W. California Ave., Ste. 270, Oklahoma City, OK 73102.