Entertainment

Yes, the New ‘Daily Show’ Host is Black. And He’s Spent His Career Making Fun of African Americans.

Published

10 years ago

April 1, 2015

Trevor Noah (Comedy Central/Facebook)

(The Washington Post) – News that Trevor Noah would replace Jon Stewart as the new host of “The Daily Show” brought a collective round of applause for the South African comedian and his “fresh” perspective and “fresh takes on race.” Critics have long lamented the lack of color among late-night TV hosts, and now a black man has gotten one of the plum hosting gigs.

Noah might look like an enlightened choice, but his routines show he isn’t — his jokes often hinge on insulting African Americans.

Back in 2012, Noah made his first American appearance, on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” The bulk of his routine was composed of jokes about black Americans. The United States, he said, was not “the America he was promised,” and “America has the credit of a black man.”

Then Noah joked that black people are misidentified as African Americans. “They’re not African, but we’ll play along,” he said, adding, “Many of them really try to connect with Africa, you know? Some of them have these African names. They’ll be like, ‘Yeah, yeah, that’s my girl Wanda, yeah, yeah. Yeah that’s right, that’s Dashiqua, or dat’s Taniqua.” Noah emphasized all this “hilarity” by using stereotypical B-Boy hand gestures to drive it home — because this is how all black people communicate, obviously. Leno’s predominantly white audience ate it up.

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Oakland Post: Week of October 9 – 15, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 9 – 15, 2024

Published

2 hours ago

October 13, 2024

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A’s Last Game in Oakland Ends Baseball Team’s 57-Year Tenure Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s Efforts to Save Team Blocked by GOP-Controlled House

After 57 years, the Athletics have left Oakland following a home series this week. Though Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduced legislation to keep the team in Oakland, she could not get the backing she needed from other legislators in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

Wikimedia image.

By Post Staff

After 57 years, the Athletics have left Oakland following a home series this week.

Though Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduced legislation to keep the team in Oakland, she could not get the backing she needed from other legislators in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Lee tried 15 months ago, the day before Nevada politicians approved $380 million in public funds to build a Las Vegas ballpark. Lee proposed a bill that would have stopped the A’s move by requiring a hefty exit fee that would have made them reconsider a move.

“That’s only fair,” Lee said in an interview in the Los Times by sportswriter Bill Shaikin. “That’s the only fair way to do it,” she said. “You’ve got to compensate the community, because the community has invested a heck of a lot.”

However, Lee’s bill could not go forward without the backing it needed. First, it went to the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican. Jordan did not co-sponsor Lee’s bill or permit the committee hearing required for the bill to move forward.

“We put up a good fight. The city put up a good fight, the county, everyone,” said Lee.

“Unfortunately, we are losing a team that really, in the day, exemplified Black excellence in Oakland. It’s more than just the team leaving. It’s a part of Oakland’s history, and our culture,” she said.