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Black Women in Comedy

Black woman have a very unique position in society. They face the struggles of living in a world that is dominated by men and the racial struggles that come with being black.

“Comedians are the last renegade of entertainers. The female comic is almost invisible. The female black comic they just don’t focus on us at all”-Luenell

“Being black and female. There is something empowering about loving yourself enough to talk about your insecurities, and your strengths, and your weaknesses. And how they relate out into the world, to Black men, to life, to culture, to belief systems, to false belief systems and to stereotypes. Because of that there is an empowerment to that truth that people find funny”-Debra Wilson

Black women have been trying to make a voice for themselves in comedy for years. Many Black women in comedy have broken barriers that have paved the way of success for others.

History
1930s One of the first known black woman to successfully do stand up comedy was Mom’s Mabley. She was the first woman comedian to perform stand up at the Apollo Theatre.

1962 “Moms” Mabley performed at Carnegie Hall for the first time. This performance gained her a white audience and allowed her the chance to appear on television.

1985 In 1979, the first black woman to host SNL was Cicely Tyson. In 1978-1979 Yvonne Hudson was a recurring cast member on the show It was not until 1985 that Danitra Vanice became first black woman to be a full cast member on the show.

2001 Showtime premiered The Queens of Comedy Miss Laura Hayes, Adele Givens, Sommore and Mo’nique. 2003 Wanda Sykes first black woman to get her own show

2014 Amber Ruffin becomes the first Black woman to write for late night.

2016 After years of writing, directing and acting in her own content Issa Rae makes the transition from web-series Awkward Black Girl to her grammy nominated HBO show entitled Insecure.

2017 Tracee Ellis Ross receives the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV comedy.

Notable Black Woman
Whoopi Goldberg one the few black women able to expand her artistic abilities and received an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.