QUOTATIONS OF "BLACK"

"Whenever I use BLACK it relates to some history of Africans in that particular place. It’s the idea of the color BLACK as a metaphor, or as a representation of African-Americans. It’s the notion of BLACK- BLACKNESS - and all its other meanings in relation to the history of race..."

- Fred Wilson

"Most of my fortitude to continue doing the work comes from the moral outrage I feel about the injustices that Black people endure disproportionately daily."

- N. Abdul-Wakil

"In the end, what matters is not skin shade but pan-African consciousness. Loving your complexion, your nose, lips, hair length and texture, no matter what the politics or trends decide, and simply be. That's the problem with us (African folks). We're still learning how to love ourselves. So used to glorifying others and putting others first..."

- Dredlocks Tree

Saturday, August 15, 2009

The W. Kamau Bell Curve
One Part Manifesto, One Part Diatribe, and Several Parts Funny.
August 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29 in NYC!

The W. Kamau Bell Curve

One part manifesto, one part diatribe, and several parts funny.

August 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29 @ The New York International Fringe Festival in New York City - www.fringenyc.org

Here’s the Facebook invite!

JUST LIKE SKINNY JEANS, superhero movies, and frozen yogurt, racism continues to make a comeback. In 2007, The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About An Hour opened big and came out swinging against big targets. Back in 2007, it was celebrity racism that was all the rage. (Imus, Kramer, Rosie O’Donnell, Dog The Bounty Hunter, etc…) But two short years later, America has amazingly elected the first black president… of the Republican National Committee — Michael Steele. Oh, and also we elected, as president of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama. All this MUST mean racism is over. We’re officially in Post-Racial America… Right?… Right?

WRONG! Because now that a black man — or a half black/half white man if we want to split not so nappy hairs — is leading the free world, the stakes just have gotten higher. Racial injustice has become more insidious (thanks to Rush Limbaugh, the continued broadcast of BET, black and Latino people being blamed for the passage of Prop 8, Teabaggers marching in lock step with white supremacists, and most of the comments on Kamau’s YouTube page). That’s right. Racism has redoubled — no, re-quadrupled — its efforts. Well, W. Kamau Bell is here to make (non)sense of all of it all. And because racism is always attacking in new ways and from new angles, Kamau attacks back by adding new material at every performance. The Curve is a seamless mix of stand- up comedy, video and audio clips, and solo theatrical performance.

The W. Kamau Bell Curve is inspired by the work of several different comedians: the passionate, agenda driven comedy of Bill Hicks, the free flowing, “talking shows” of Henry Rollins, the soul baring honesty of Margaret Cho’s “I’m The One That I Want,” the take no prisoners and leave no stone unturned style of Dave Chappelle, and the ripped-from-the-headlines relevance of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

And as always…

BRING A FRIEND OF A DIFFERENT RACE & GET FREE GIFT!

The W. Kamau Bell Curve has played to sold out houses all over San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, and has also played The Jewish Community Center East Bay in Berkeley. It has also been performed twice at The Comedy Central Stage in Los Angeles. And this summer will appear at The La Pena Cultural Center and The New York International Fringe Festival.