Its a cannon event in the young black experience to be in a room full of people and a non black person tries to make a joke about black people and the joke leaves you in such a state of confusion like Dave Chapelle says in the video above at the 0:23 second mark “God damn that was racist”. After having this phenomenon happen to me multiple times in my life, I decide that there has to be some sort of explanation behind this. So I decide to research.
In my research I first had to specify the question, what was I asking? This made me look back at every time I experienced being uncomfortable in a room from a joke and I realized something… they were all food jokes. So came to my question “Who can joke about whose food? What makes a good or bad food joke?”. I consulted the book Dangerous Jokes: How Racism and Sexism Weaponize humor. by Claire Horisk, in this novel she introduces a thesis that have seemingly completed my life. That being the wrong joker thesis.The wrong joker thesis states that the person that is making the joke is essentially not qualified to be making the joke about the group of people they are making a joke about. It is like a veil had been lifted off of my heart. Countless amount of fried chicken jokes in the cafe by unfunny white people led to this moment I achieved when I read this book. But there was still something about joking about black people’s food. Its almost like an art only a few can do.
“According to the *plan* , all we got to eat is Cheerios and green beans. So once again, your plan sucks.[ to Leonard ] You got a bacon cheeseburger?”- Robert ‘Granddad Freeman
The Boondocks written by Aaron McGruder is a perfect example of not just good tv, but why who is making a joke matters. Time after time he showed the ability to joke about things white tv executives would touch with a 10 foot poll attached to a token black character. Which really highlighted to me the fact that there has to be context behind what you are joking about and that you need that knowledge to be funny. This made me put it all together, the reason those jokes made me so uncomfortable is the fact that those people who made them jokes don’t have the same attachment to those things making it seem like hate.
“Dave Chappelle If You Don’t Like Chicken or Watermelon Something is Wrong With You!” Youtube, uploaded by MrOlamide95, 22 Jun. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeQ0zm-njyQ
Horisk, Claire. Dangerous Jokes: How Racism and Sexism Weaponize humor. February 22, 2024,Oxford University Press.
