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At this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner led by Nightly Show Larry Wilmore and President Obama, the two had the balls to put their blackness front and center, which unsettled more than a few guests and left Twitter exploding.
Obama set the tone for what was an at times excruciatingly funny roast of the presidential campaign, its news coverage, and the racial issues that have come up during his years in office. His musings about race included one-liners about whether or not he was “black enough,” a sketch where a white receptionist questions the legitimacy of his birth certificate and responds not so subtly when hearing his full name.
But whereas Obama played to the people in attendance, Wilmore’s monologue seemed directed to the folks watching from home. Calling the evening “Negro Night,” Wilmore quipped that the president’s hair was “so white it tried to punch him at a Trump rally.” He blasted mainstream media outlets for their lack of diversity, called out Ben Carson on his opposition to Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, then took a jab at Al Sharpton that would only be comical for those who understand the difficulties of black hair care.
Wilmore then even went so far as to use the“n-word,” evoking a smile and a hug from Obama.
The general public questioned whether such an event was the appropriate time and place for the use of the word “nigger,” even for a comedian. Social media opinions of black people were all over the place — some arguing the word shouldn’t be used in any context, and others arguing it has been reclaimed. What everyone seemed to be in agreement on is that white people shouldn’t weigh in.
Wilmore’s use of the word “nigger” should not be the highlight of the story here. Instead, it should be applauded that in the center of an institution full of white people, Obama and Wilmore dared to put their blackness in the spotlight, sending palpable threads of discomfort throughout America, and showing us just how much more work the American public has to do when it comes to dealing with race head-on.
Source: matadornetwork.com