Too Black to Fail
The first African-American and female president of the Harvard Lampoon talks comedy, race, and hugging it out with Henry Louis Gates. Alexis Wilkinson
Is it possible to smile and wince at the same time? It must be, because thats what my face is doing against Henry Louis Gatess blazer. Hes on a stage, and Im standing on the floor below, but its not much of a stretchshort stage, short man, tall meand my face is smushed into his jacket. Im so proud of you, he tells me, squeezing. Another Negro first!
On the one hand, it feels great to be recognized by one of the nations preeminent African-American scholars. On the other hand, lets be real: All Ive done is become president of a college humor magazine.
But people keep telling me that this is a big dealbecause the magazine in question is the Harvard Lampoon, the 138-year-old institution that has launched luminaries like Conan OBrien, Andy Borowitz, and B. J. Novak. And I am its first president to be both female and black.
My election may have seemed like an even bigger deal because it happened just as the blogosphere was going nuts about comedy, gender, and race. Back in January, Saturday Night Live hired its first black female cast member in more than six years. Meanwhile, Jerry Seinfeld told a reporter he didnt think diversity in comedy was important. Oh, and then Black History Month happened. It was a black-girl-comedy perfect storm, and I was in peak position to be swept up in it.
In all the dialogue, it seems there are three distinct roles people expect me to play as the first woman of color to lead this historically very white, very male organization. Some folks envision me as a glorious radical, Afro two miles wide, burning down every relic of white male patriarchal comedy. Other people are afraid Ill come in as the PC police, turning the Lampoon into a humorless, Soviet-style-gulag. On the flip side, I could be a race traitor: Auntie Tom, a cog in the comedy machine, shucking and jiving my way to the top with no intention of shaking up massahs status quo. The idea of taking up any of these roles is utterly unappealing.
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/article/2014/04/07/alexis-wilkinson-harvard-lampoon/