Laughing Mad : The Black Comic Persona in Post-Soul America

Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Enter Laughing 1 1 From Negro to Black: Coming of Comic Age in the Civil Rights Era 14 2 Murphy and Rock: From the "Black Guy" to the "Rock Star" 69 3 Post-Soul Comedy Goes to the Movies: Cinematic Adjustments and [Pop] Cultural Currency 99 4 Crossover Diva: Whoopi Goldberg and Persona Politics 132 5 Dave Chappelle: Provocateur in the Promised Land 178 Epilogue: Laughing Sad, Laughing Mad 237 Notes 245 Index 269