The power of Black Girl Humor: When comedy and #BlackGirlMagic converge

By TAMARA BEAUBOEUF-LAFONTANT via https://www.salon.com/

A segment on “A Black Lady Sketch Show” is a rich example of how humor creates space for actualizing #BlackGirlMagic

NBC’s recent announcement of the development of a half-hour comedy show, “Black Girl Magic,” follows the August 2019 debut of HBO’s “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” a history-making comedy featuring a writers room of all Black women. Renewed for a second season, the show regularly positions Black women as critical observers of everyday reality. As creator Robin Thede has noted, the show aims to be “cinematic, magical and unprecedented.” Utilizing what we can call Black Girl Humor, it draws nuanced attention to many invisibilities and silences in Black women’s experiences. Doing so not only entertains but creates needed social and psychological space for actualizing BlackGirlMagic, the spirited celebration of Black women “making our own light and love.”

Despite Black women’s support for BlackGirlMagic, most have been raised to be preternaturally strong….