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Black laughter / Black protest: civil rights, respectability, and the cultural politics of African American comedy, 1934-1968

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Title
Black laughter / Black protest: civil rights, respectability, and the cultural politics of African American comedy, 1934-1968
TitleInfo (displayLabel = Other Title); (type = alternative)
Title
Civil rights, respectability, and the cultural politics of African American comedy, 1934-1968
Name (ID = NAME001); (type = personal)
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Lorts
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Justin T.
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Justin T. Lorts
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Fabian
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Ann
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Ann Fabian
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Steven
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Steven F Lawson
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Keith
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Keith Wailoo
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Martin
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Waldo
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Advisory Committee
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Waldo E Martin
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Rutgers University
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Graduate School - New Brunswick
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theses
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2008
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2008-10
Language
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English
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electronic
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application/pdf
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vii, 283 pages
Abstract
Black Laughter / Black Protest explores the relationship between comedy and the modern civil rights movement. In the early years of the civil rights movement, black leaders, intellectuals and journalists claimed that African American comedy undermined black claims to respectability and prevented policy makers and the white public from taking black concerns seriously. In an effort to eliminate these images from the mass media, the NAACP, with assistance from other organizations and members of the black press, organized a number of campaigns against Hollywood studios, Broadway producers and most notably, the Amos 'n' Andy television show. Though often overlooked by civil rights scholars, these actions were a central component of civil rights activism during the 1940s and 1950s and an important precursor to Brown v. Board of Education. In detailing these efforts, this project provides new evidence of the cultural dimensions of the civil rights struggle and contributes to the growing literature on the significance of respectability in black politics.
At the same time, Black Laughter / Black Protest also examines the significant role that African American comedians played in the movement. As prominent members of the black community, comedians such as Pigmeat Markham, Moms Mabley, Redd Foxx, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dick Gregory and Godfrey Cambridge had access to large, and often multi-racial, audiences. Using published interviews and recorded performances, I trace the development of African American comedy through various forms and mediums, including vaudeville, burlesque, nightclub routines, comedy albums, motion pictures and television. Over the course of this development, black comedians effectively used their privileged positions to engage their audiences in a civil rights dialogue that challenged mainstream assumptions on racial issues. Comics also directly participated in the civil rights movement by integrating entertainment venues, testifying before government officials, performing at fundraisers and rallies and providing much needed financial support to the cause. Dick Gregory went even further by actually leading marches and demonstrations, lending visibility and vitality to local protests. By highlighting these efforts, this project sheds scholarly light on the role that black artists played in shaping political consciousness and action during the civil rights era.
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references (p. 268-282).
Subject (ID = SUBJ1); (authority = RUETD)
Topic
History
Subject (ID = SUBJ2); (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
African American wit and humor--History and criticism
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Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore19991600001
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http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.17523
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ETD_1264
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Identifier (type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3765FMP
Genre (authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
Copyright
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Open
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Justin Lorts
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Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
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I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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