Interview with Larry Wilmore
February 9th, 2009 | Interviews, San Francisco Comedy
Larry Wilmore is the “senior black correspondent” on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He appeared as a diversity consultant on The Office, and has written for In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and The Bernie Mac Show. Tonight at 7pm, Larry will be appearing at Book Passage in Corte Madera to discuss his new book I’d Rather We Got Casinos: And Other Black Thoughts.
Larry Wilmore @ Book Passage
Monday, February 9th at 7pm
51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera
You’ve got a section in your book where you poke fun at guys like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Since we have a black President now, what types of issues do you think Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton should be focusing on?
Larry Wilmore: I think they should stick to their jobs. Obama is not a black leader. He was elected, he was voted for. You have to be self-appointed to be a black leader. He’s just a leader who happens to be black. So I think Jesse and Sharpton should do what they do best: look for racism in every possible nook and cranny.
Do white people need our own Jesse Jackson-type of leader to represent us?
LW: I don’t think so. Remember- Obama is half white. He’s representing both sides. I think that was brilliant strategizing. This, by the way, is why I think more brothers should hook up with white girls. Cause look what happens.
What’s your favorite TV project you’ve been involved with?
LW: They’ve all been fun in different ways. It sounds like a cop-out, but they really have been. As a performer, there’s been nothing like The Daily Show. When we did the election special, that was really great to do something like that. But In Living Color was pretty much my very first job in the business, and the feeling around that show at the time was just incredible.
Did you get that gig from doing stand-up?
LW: I had only been writing for TV for about 6 months at that time. They were looking for writers and I submitted some material. I had a good interview with Keenan [Ivory Wayans]- we basically talked about stand-up, so I guess stand-up in a way helped.
Which Fresh Prince character was more fun to write for- Uncle Phil or Carlton?
LW: I think I would have to say Carlton. “Fresh Prince not in scene- scene not funny.” That was my Fresh Prince rule. Alfonso, who played Carlton, he was very talented. He starred on Broadway- I think he was “The Tap Dance Kid.”
You’re in favor of identifying black people as “chocolate.” Why is that better than African American?
LW: I think we should just say what it is. I remember somebody trying to describe this black guy from England- “he’s an African Amer… I mean an African Eng…” You know what, he’s a Mounds Bar. It’s a start. Look- at one point, we were called Afro-Americans. We were named after a hairstyle! I mean, that’s insane when you think about it.
