The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian

by W. Kamau Bell

I learned from both of my parents, it is that you don’t need the paper to get the information. As much as they are so different from each other, I learned from them that nobody can beat hard work.

And this is important. This is about representation. For some reason, white people in America are perfectly comfortable with the idea of people of color just contorting their imaginations such that we can imagine ourselves as white heroes, but white people generally aren’t OK with imagining themselves as Black heroes.

Yup, you could get a BlackBerry before you could get a Black Barbie.

The next day, it comes out that earlier that night I’d had a fight with my wife . . . and that in the wake of Robin Williams’s suicide, I had written a blog post about comedians and depression . . . and that in my stand-up act I have jokes that are critical of police. The media reports that when I was in high school I was an assistant instructor at a kung-fu school. Headline: “Black Comedian, a Martial-Arts Expert Who Hated Cops, Fought with His Wife, and Was Clinically Depressed, Demonically Steals Frozen Treat from Local Muslim Merchant Who Is Thought to Be a Member of ISIS.”

The fact is that being a BBM has consequences. Being a BBM is why I smile quickly. It’s why I don’t usually stand to my full height. It’s why my posture is so bad. I slouch and bend instead of lording myself over people. When people haven’t seen me for a while, I often hear, “I forgot how tall you are!” I know you did. It’s because I’m trying to make you forget. This is what being Black in America has done to me, to others like me, and, in some sense, even to you. It’s not that I think I will be killed by a police officer. It’s just that if I am, it won’t be a surprise.

The biggest thing that white people can do is really get comfortable having conversations about race and racism in this country.