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Can Black Folks Take a Joke?

By Gabrielle Maple
Black College Wire

Ice Cube (right) in the film "Barbershop."

When I heard the Eddie character, the "elder statesman" in the blockbuster "Barbershop" movie played by Cedric the Entertainer, joke about Rosa Parks not giving up her seat on a Montgomery bus and referring to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a "ho," I laughed. I couldn't believe the writers of the movie went there, but that's the way I have heard black people talk for years.

The ringleaders of the debate over the movie, the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, are blowing the entire thing out of proportion.

For years, we have embraced satire of historical events and of prominent African Americans in our society as entertaining. However, now that our "behind closed door" conversations and back porch ideologies have gone mainstream via the big screen, the "voices of black folks everywhere" are in an uproar.

The whole point of the jokes was overlooked in the midst of the debate over Dr. King's alleged infidelities and Mrs. Parks' role in the civil rights movement. There are many things we deem as taboo in the black community. We may not talk about them around white folks, but we surely vocalize them within our comfort zone (i.e., the barbershop). Although it may not have been illustrated in history books, blacks were being beaten, arrested and thrown in jail for refusing to give up their seats on buses and lunch counters across the country years before Rosa Parks.

With all due respect to Mrs. Parks, her actions weren't more important than any other person who fought for equal rights during that turbulent time. She just happened to be in the right place at that right time to gain the attention that brought the struggles of our people to the forefront.

And as for Dr. King being labeled as a "ho," that is disrespectful term for anyone. But for Jackson and Sharpton to condemn a comment about his alleged adulterous behavior because it came from a black person is out of line. People are free to say whatever and however they feel about a person.

Over the years, Jackson and Sharpton have made many public remarks attacking the character of prominent individuals.

Other prominent blacks argue that the comments can give the wrong impression on the legacies of such historical movers and shakers.

The film is rated PG-13, which means parental guidance is required for those under age 13. By 13, I'm sure that everyone knows the significance that King and Parks played in shaping our country.

Secondly, it is not the media's job to educate our children about our history. Whether or not they are getting it in the classroom,, it's a parent's responsibility to teach his or her child on our culture and historical background. If parents do that, our children will be able to distinguish what is historically inaccurate and what is a harmless joke.

Sharpton and Jackson, "the voice of black folks everywhere," should be spending this time criticizing President Bush's plan to send our troops to fight Suddam Hussein. Sharpton should be on the Sunday morning talk show circuit criticizing the recent incidents of racial profiling among our Arab brothers and sisters. There are a 1,001 other problems that Jackson and Sharpton can help. Leave "Barbershop" alone.

Gabrielle Maple is editor-in-chief of Southern Digest at Southern University.