There are a few things that will never be funny– Slavery, rape and murder–just to name a few. However this week Black Twitter took off with the hashtag #tweetlikethe1600s . In the midst of today’s explosive racial climate and with Black history month upon us, the question that begs to be answered is, was the 1600s for Black people funny then? Are the 1600s for Black people funny now? Humor in the African American community has historically and presently served as an escape. Legendary comedic geniuses Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle have both dared to humorously discuss and/or spoof the delicate topic of Black slavery throughout their careers. Most people would say that both successfully walked that tightrope of ‘brilliant vs inexcusable’ and provided more comic relief/escape than they did shame. But is Black Twitter out of bounds this time or simply providing some well needed comic relief? In the actual 1600s, enslaved Africans had a way of finding humor in their terrible condition. Our ancestors would have what were known as cakewalks. On Sundays when enslaved Africans were allowed to congregate, they would dance in a bit of a “soul train line” for lack of a better comparison and mimic the walk and talk of their White masters. As a people, we’re brilliantly hilarious, and have been for quite some time. Look at a few of these tweets and let us know. Have we gone too far this time? Are we laughing at slavery? Or just plain laughing? You be the judge…. https://twitter.com/Conc3ited__/status/958726755703050240 https://twitter.com/KBatisteJr/status/958781052817952769 https://twitter.com/SomaliGoat1/status/959088327210258432 https://twitter.com/fly_like_mike/status/958699203919835138 https://twitter.com/offical6tone/status/958816522822213632 https://twitter.com/mvkewill/status/958780239370387457 https://twitter.com/princeeezy_/status/958740802519339009]]>
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