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" I'm Writing for Freedom!" Mapping Public Discourse

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"I'M WRITING FOR FREEDOM!" MAPPING PUBLIC DISCOURSE ON RACE IN COMEDY LAURA MAE MONIQUE LINDO A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN EDUCATION YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO May 2011 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-80556-5 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-80556-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada Abstract Anti-racism workshops have been known to incite feelings of guilt, shame, and anger in response to facilitators' requests to speak explicitly about race (Chase, 2010; Earick, 2009; Srivastava, 1996). In spite of these heightened emotions being considered counter­ productive to the creation of positive educational environments (Earick, 2009; Solomon & Levine-Rasky, 2003), the workshop model continues to flourish as a means of delivering anti-racist education both in and out of schools. These "negative" responses to anti-racist workshops have been re-conceptualized as markers of success, with theorists making implicit suggestions that it is the "working through" of these emotions that pose a forceful challenge to racist behaviours (Chase, 2010). Feeling strongly that there is need for alternative anti-racist educational models that do not rely so heavily upon feelings of anxiety, anger, or guilt, this dissertation examines the use of comedy to initiate explicit discussions of race in educational spaces. The use of humour in classrooms has been discussed in educational literature, however, it has only rarely been conceived of as a pedagogical anti-racist method. Following scholars like Bambi Haggins (2007) and Cris Mayo (2008) who have written of the pedagogical possibilities of comedic texts, this dissertation examines the performances of a particular group of comedians who make race the primary focus of their comedic work. Defining these comedians as "race comics," I use examples of their comedy to emphasize that their routines represent a common engagement with race in iv ways that are reflected in various anti-racist educational discourses. I then introduce a small-scale study in which race comedy was incorporated into my pre-service classroom to help initiate critical dialogues about race and racism. Arguing that race comedy facilitated more risk-taking on the part of my students, I present examples of student comments throughout a 2-day "Comic Intervention" to show how their analysis of select comedic performances became a catalyst for re-considering Canadian "colourblind" discourses. I conclude with a call to continue exploring novel approaches to anti-racist education, emphasizing the effectiveness of humour and race comedy as a valuable alternative strategy. v Acknowledgments In 2005 when I began my doctoral studies at York University, I never could have imagined where life would take me. A new daughter, a new home, a new teaching job... all of these have shaped my work, my life, and my perspectives on why anti-racist education is important. I could not have gotten through any of this without the help, support, and guidance of a number of amazing individuals. To begin, I would like to thank my daughters, Sofia and Danica, for their love and the joy they bring to my life each day. When I look at them and reflect upon their experiences in school, I am reminded on a daily basis that this work is critically important. Thanks to my parents, Ossie and Gerald Lindo, and my brothers and sisters for saying yes when asked to watch the kids at the last minute as I worked diligently to finish writing. Thank you to my wonderful friends - you know who you are - who have been there for late night phone calls, pep talks, and nights out to clear my head. Your supportive words have not gone unnoticed. May that positive energy be returned to you when you need it most and when you least expect it. Thanks also to my wonderful dissertation committee. Your advice, support, and patience have allowed me to learn and grow in ways I never could have imagined. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication. Finally, I would like to send a special thank you to my doctoral supervisor, Dr. Jennifer Jenson, as well as Dr. Suzanne de Castell for their support - not only involving the work that I will present here, but more importantly for reminding me that no matter what the world throws at me, I can find my way through to the light at the end of the tunnel. I have learned so much from both of you; not only about how to become a better academic, but, more importantly, how to become a better person. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And now, as the moment has come for others outside of my circle of trusted mentors and friends to read about what I have immersed myself in for the last five years, I cannot help but smile. In the words of Dave Chappelle: This is probably the wildest thing that I've ever done in my career, and I showed it to a Black friend of mine He looked at me like I had set Black people back with a comedy sketch. [Shrugging his shoulders] Sorry [Audience laughter] Just role it! (Cundieff, et al, 2004) VI Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS VI CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 UNCOMFORTABLE LAUGHTER AND THE UNSPOKEN RULES OF THE (RACE) GAME 1 Anti-Racist Education: Obstacles and Issues 3 A Different Approach: Adding Comedy to Anti-Racism Education 6 DISSERTATION OVERVIEW 9 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 12 READING THE LITERATURE: AN INTRODUCTION 12 SECTION 1: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY OVERVIEW 15 Reading Humour in Psychology 16 Reading Humour in Philosophy 20 Reading Humour in Popular Culture 24 Reading Humour in Education 26 Eurocentric Tendencies — Multi-Ethnic Possibilities 33 SECTION 2: THE ROOTS OF BLACK COMEDIC ROUTES 34 SECTION 3: CREATING BLACK COMEDIANS - THE STANDUP COMEDY STAGE 39 SECTION 4: AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BIOGRAPHY, AND RACE POLITICS 46 SECTION 5: REPRESENTING BLACK AMERICA THROUGH COMEDY 53 CONCLUSION 61 CHAPTER 3: THE BIRTH OF A "RACE COMIC" 63 SECTION 1: RACE COMEDY AS PEDAGOGY. .. A POLITICAL ENDEAVOR 63 SECTION 2: RACE COMEDY AND THE ARE AGENDA 72 Assuming the Intelligence of Audiences 74 Normalizing Blackness 79 Making Racism Visible 83 CONCLUSION 88 CHAPTER 4: A RACE COMIC'S APPROACH 91 SECTION 1: THE "RACE COMIC" CODE-DEVELOPING SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE COMEDY 91 Comedic Accountability 92 SECTION 2: PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGIES - A CLOSER LOOK AT A RACE COMIC 100 Storytelling: Making Constructive Use of Real Experiences 101 Sharing Overt Race Politics in a Casual Way 106 Role Reversal: Turning a Story Upside Down Ill A Commitment to Anti-racist Principles 116 CONCLUSION 121 CHAPTER 5: A "COMIC INTERVENTION" 123 SECTION 1: FROM WHERE I STAND 125 SECTION 2: ACCESSING ANTI-RACIST PEDAGOGIES THROUGH RACE COMICS 130 Introducing the Class 132 SECTION 3: OPENING CONVERSATIONS 137 SECTION 4: ENGAGING WITH COMEDY - ENGAGING WITH RACE 146 The Racial Draft 147 CONCLUSION 158 VI1 CHAPTER 6: ANTI-RACIST EDUCATION, COMEDY, AND NEW HORIZONS 159 FINAL REFLECTIONS ON ANTI-RACIST TEACHER EDUCATION 160 MY LAST TWO STORIES. .. I PROMISE 166 BIBLIOGRAPHY 172 vm Chapter 1: Introduction Maybe a laugh is like a sigh A form of release that connotes pleasure We can for a moment give up the facade of polite speech and the pretense of liberal rational society There is joy in this Yet perhaps - as with sighing - we are also informed by the knowledge that the break is temporary We laugh loudly for a moment, we sigh deeply for a moment And then the world keeps on turning (Atlun, 2009) Uncomfortable laughter and the Unspoken Rules of the (Race) Game I knew that I was marked. Black female educators like bell hooks (2003) and Annette Henry (2000) emphasized that it would be up to me to address racism in my classroom, simply because in traditional institutions my black female body was presumed to be the best (and often the only) candidate for the job.
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